Monsters Make the Best Pack
by AmberShadows76
Summary: "I've become... a monster" The Planet had observed her children as they struggled through trying to find their place in the world of humans. Unhappy with the results of their fumbling in the dark of their beliefs, she sent back one who could show them the truth of their place in the world. After all, monsters make the best pack for monsters.
1. Prologue

**Monsters Make the Best Pack**

Disclaimer: I own neither the characters, setting, or company of origin for this story. This story is fictional and any similarity to persons past, present, future, living or dead is purely coincidental as this is a work of fiction and entertainment.

**Prologue: Gathering the Pack**

Bright florescent lights buzzed overhead, overworked trying to light the subterranean space whispered in his ears a distracting cadence.

The rotten smell of stagnant mako overlaid by the sickly sweet smell of drying blood almost overwhelmed his nose.

Fear and sweat drifted from every corner.

The combined scent of fur, blood, gun oil, mako, and material poured from behind the heavy wooden door to his left. _Close and familiar, but not quite right. Still further._

There the smell of cleaning chemicals, books and ink, the sharp tang of fresh new mako, and underneath the sweet smell of chocolate. _Found you._

A flash of silver turned to see and …

* * *

The tinny chirp of thousands of mechanical birds still echoing in his ears carried even further on the chilly mountain breeze.

Jump over the natural mako pool to avoid the cluster of Bombs in the path.

Finally, the clean, uncontaminated scent of pine and fresh dirt.

Blond and silver and a hint of blue eyes, huddled together against pale stone face.

Heat and sound drown out the rest of the world.

* * *

Green Life growing higher and stronger twined together with glowing mako and singing Lifestream harmonized with gentle humming.

Raised voices from the open window were a jarring counter-note to the peaceful scene outside small building.

A decision made in green eyes much older than the face they resided in, and brown locks join blond and silver.

* * *

After the oppressive cold of the Northern Continent the light, sweet scent of strange purple apples and warm refreshing air was a shock to eveyones' systems.

Scent is useless because of the extreme permeation of apple scent on the breezes, however sharp ears catch the soft murmur of a poem long since memorized and oft repeated.

High in the boughs of a bent tree shone a flash of bright, exuberant red; and closer to the ground the steadying presence of calm raven.

Closer still, and now the smell of fire and earth mixed with mako and fledgling feather down.

A flash of radiant, divine light and ringing metal; and then…

* * *

He should not have been in there. The office of the man, who had taken a look at the obvious features of the people fighting so fiercely against the company of his employ and still accepted the young man into the elite ranks of blue suited individuals' was dim, lit only by the glowing computer screen.

_Nibelheim, Shinra Mansion, Dr. Hojo, S project; the Northern Crater, Dr. Gast, Promised Land; Banora, Dr. Hollander, G project. Explosions and disappearances and distinct footprints left at all three scenes. _

The quiet click of the office lock and soft tap of polished shoes on linoleum covered the quiet chime of the only computer in the building connect to the main server of the Shinra Electric Company.

_**ALL FILES DELETED**_


	2. Chapter 1

**Monsters Make the Best Pack**

**Chapter One: Blame Game**

**A.N.- So for this story to flow the way I want it to I have messed with timeline a bit. Professor Gast was not killed right after Aerith was born and Hojo was too busy with things in Nibelheim to go after Ifalna and Aerith. Tseng and Cloud are both older than I think they are in the actual game.**

Despite his training and extensive practice in the face of boring board meetings and psychotic scientists, Veld could not contain the sigh that escaped him at seeing who, exactly, was waiting in the board room he had been called to by President Shinra. He was honestly surprised not to see frost creeping up the windows from all the professional (and personal) jealousy, anger, and disapproval pouring from the room.

Enough times facing down guard hounds and hostile board rooms had Veld's self-preservation instincts kicking in before he entered the room in order to locate the biggest threat in the room.

President Shinra sat at the head of the board room table, glower dark enough to cause a griffin to doubt attacking a herd of chocobo. Veld winced at that one, knowing that the majority of that glower came from the fact that all of the information on this case had been wiped from every server in the building, and was continuing to be wiped from the servers by a virus that Information Technology (IT) and the best hackers in the Turks could not find, much less stop. On top of that, Veld's newest agent, that he had personally brought into the Turks had disappeared off the face of the Planet the same night that the pertinent information had disappeared.

Sitting down the table on President Shinra's left and right respectively were Professors Hojo and Gast, Veld felt lucky that neither Professor seemed to have any materia equipped or their glares might have resulted in more than just figurative sparks and frost.

Veld also praised the Planet that Ifalna was sitting to Professor Gast's left with her hand on his arm, not that she was able to diffuse the tension in Gast considering how tense she was. But at least she gave Gast something to focus on other than jumping across the table and killing Hojo with his glasses.

Less encouraging was the fact that a few seats down from Hojo sat Professor Hollander gazing at Hojo with an admiration and devotion that one would normally see in a fledgling chocobo looking at its parent.

Veld took one more fortifying breath before entering the board room fully.

* * *

"Do you mind explaining to me how it is you have managed to lose not just one but all four of our leads to finding the Promised Land of the Centra and are still no closer to finding who has taken them?" growled President Shinra, hands steepled in front of his face and piercing gaze locked onto Veld.

Veld fell easily into a military at ease stance, looking just over President Shinra's shoulder, "Three weeks ago Reactor Alpha in Nibelheim, Northern Continent exploded. Searches conducted by the Turks have shown no conclusive evidence as to whether Project S, named Sephiroth was taken by the same group that sabotaged the reactor as there has been no evidence of a struggle occurring to indicate that Project S left unwillingly and security cameras show Sephiroth in his room until 0500 where he then disappears off of all cameras without once moving from his bed. The Turks have been all over the Shinra Mansion and seen no evidence of an outside party entering or an inside party leaving, as all assigned works were present and accounted for."

"Humph," snorted Prof. Hojo cutting Veld's report off, "useless per usual, inferior specimens that your Turks are. Sephiroth would not leave the lab of his own will, so your men must have missed the evidence of whatever means was used to subdue him. And obviously the lab security cameras were hacked, people, even ones as genetically advanced as Sephiroth, do not disappear without leaving a trace."

"Maybe if you did not treat the child as a science experiment to be poked and prodded, the belief that he left willingly would not even be viable," stated Gast, leaning across the table as though closer proximity would give his words greater impact.

"That boy is not something to be coddled and _protected_ as your insipid wife insisted on doing while you were present in MY lab,' yelled Hojo, standing and slamming his palms down the table, attempting to use his height to intimidate Gast, "besides your _daughter_ has disappeared just as my project has, except yours walked out right under your nose!"

"You.."

"Gentlemen, please this arguing is not getting us any closer to finding out what has happened to the children. Whether they were taken or left willingly does not matter until we have them back and can figure out what happened to make them leave in the first place." Stated Ifalna, standing and placing her hand on Gast's arm, attempting to push him back into his seat from where he had jumped up to confront Hojo. "Please continue with what your men have found, Commander Veld."

"Thank you Mrs. Faremis. Two days after the destruction of Reactor Alpha and the disappearance of Sephiroth, Miss Aerith Faremis disappeared from outside of the home/observatory of Professor Gast and Mrs. Ifalna Faremis. Turks sent to the house found no evidence of a struggle and no evidence of footprints leading too or from the garden Miss Faremis was working in. When questioning the locals, no one new was seen in Icicle Inn either before or after the event," Veld took a moment to take a breath, "Three days after Miss Faremis' disappearance and five days after Sephiroth's disappearance. There was a singular event in the Underground Mako Cave of Banora Village. Eye witnesses from the village and orchard state that the ground caved in over where the statue of the Goddess resides and a blinding light emitted from the area. Once the tremors had died down and an account was taken in the village it was discovered that Genesis Rhapsodos and Angeal Hewley, the 'participants,' Veld could not bring himself to say that phrase without some skepticism, "in Project G had disappeared in the chaos. No evidence has been found that they were taken and none of their things were missing as though they had run away."

"And in not one instance but three, four if you count the reactor as a separate event," the skepticism in Hojo's voice was evidenced on his face, "have your agents been able to locate, find, or even generally be useful in any way shape or form. And in the midst of their being phenomenally unhelpful, one of your own men has disappeared off the face of the Planet and managed to wipe all your, useless to begin with, data about the situation off every, supposedly _secure_ server in the building and is SOMEHOW, still managing to do this even though you cannot figure out how he is doing this or where he has gone."

The look Hojo directed at President Shinra showed just as much contempt as his voice, "Your so called elite security force has not been very effective, I suggest you let me have whichever unfortunate they finally find. I am sure my methods will be much more effective than whatever these idiots are trying."

Veld held his position, but he could still see the look of contemplation that President Shinra was giving Professor Hojo. Professor Gast and Ifalna, while looking horrified with the thought of willingly allowing _anyone_ into Hojo's hands, still seemed to be considering Hojo's offer in order to get their daughter back. And Professor Hollander was still giving Hojo the same disturbing stalker-like gaze of admiration.

"Very well, Commander Veld when you _finally_ find a suspect, you are to hand them over to Professor Hojo so that we may get some answers as to how a group of people have manged to collect all of our resources for finding the Promised Land."

"Of course President Shinra," stated Veld, giving a bow of his head in acknowledgement and turning to walk out the door.

"And you will start with that young Wutainese man that has managed to hide things so well."

"As you say, President Shinra." Veld could not completely contain the slither of dread that passed down his spine as the door closed behind him.

* * *

In the distance, a solitary wolf howled.


	3. Chapter 2

**Monsters Make the Best Pack**

**Chapter 2: Meeting the Pack**

Tseng muttered curses under his breath as he stepped in yet _another_ puddle.

"If it is raining you have puddles on the ground, if it is hot, you don't have puddles on every inch of passable ground. Why are they in this planet forsaken fore..shimatta!" Tseng dodged under the lunge of the Touch-Me, shot it, and stepped into _ANOTHER_ puddle. If his childhood sensei, or Leviathan forbid, his mother had been present in that moment, Tseng would have been doing extra katas for a week and washing his mouth out with his mother's best lye soap because of the amount of curses he released in both Common and Wutain in that moment.

Once he had calmed down and was once more in control of himself, Tseng checked that the packet of papers he had in his jacket was still dry and was actually thankful that he had changed his blue suit out for a pair of black fitted jeans, a white button up shirt, and a leather jacket that kept the humidity and water of this Planet forsaken forest off of the documents he had been sent to collect. If he had lost those documents then all the trouble that he gone to in getting the information and destroying any other copies would have been worthless. Especially since he was fairly certain that he had not only destroyed his 'bridge' in the Turks, but blown it spectacularly sky high. Confident that the packet was still safe and secure in his jacket, Tseng set out once again to try and find out where he was supposed to be meeting the one person on this Planet he was willing to risk everything that he had been working for in his life in order to help.

* * *

"_Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess_

_We seek it thus, and take to the sky_

_Ripples form on the water's surface_

_The wandering soul knows no rest.1"_

"Are we gonna ride an airship?" interrupted a hesitant voice.

Genesis glanced down at the blond four year old sitting patiently at his feet and looking up at him with wide blue eyes that quickly averted their gaze with a quick flash of fear that their question would be met with a slap. Genesis had to grit his teeth against the anger he felt once again as he saw an example that the young child was more used to slaps and hits than actual answers to his questions. Four weeks after leaving Nibelheim, the bruises that had been on the boys arms were finally disappearing into light yellow marks instead of the vivid black, purples, and greens they had been previously. The silver haired boy that was with the young blond when Genesis and Angeal had joined their little group had mentioned that he had gotten from the boy that in his village the only person that was kind, or even neutral, to the boy was his mother.

"What makes you think we're going to riding in an airship, little one?" asked Genesis, setting his beloved copy of Loveless down so that he could pay full attention to the youngest of their group. While Angeal was universally known as the calm, supportive one of the two when they lived in Banora, Genesis felt it was his responsibility as the oldest of their group to attempt to make the little blond feel more comfortable asking questions and being around other people, people who are not complete and total bastards.

Big blue eyes looked up in shocked surprised that he was getting an answer and not a hit, "You said '_and take to the sky,'_ doesn't that 'ean an airship?"

Genesis chuckled and leaned down to ruffle blond spikes into even more disarray than normal, "No, I was not talking about an airship. It's an epic poem from ancient history that tells the tale of three friends who are on a quest to find the Gift of the Goddess. The men are never named, but the poet does give them titles-the Hero, the Wanderer, and the Prisoner. However, the ending has been lost in history so no one knows for sure if they ever found the Gift of the Goddess or even what the Gift was supposed to be," Genesis chuckled again, "Actually, the Prisoner's portion of the story sounds somewhat like you and Sephiroth. Do you want to read through it with me, Cloud?"

If possible, Cloud's eyes got even bigger and he looked up at Genesis like he had never seen anything like him before, which made the fire burning in Genesis' stomach burn even brighter because no one should look at _Genesis_ like he was the nicest thing to ever happen to them, that was Angeal's role. The only good thing that came of all the anger Genesis' felt on behalf of the little blond was that Genesis was beginning to achieve a fantastic hold on his temper considering how badly the child had reacted the first, and only, time Genesis had truly lost his temper since joining up with the other three children.

*Flashback*

_It was their third night in this hot, humid, disgusting forest; sleeping on the ground and cooking their meals over a campfire and Genesis had had enough. He wanted a warm bed with a roof over his head and a distinct lack of insects and other creatures around to interrupt his sleep and a meal that he did not have to be involved in helping to cook. Angeal had noticed the signs of Genesis' growing temper and tried to stall one of his explosive tantrums. Unfortunately, all of Angeal's good intentions just made Genesis even angrier and they got into an argument that was multiple times worse than any they had previously had in Banora. They were going at it so loudly that it actually took Sephiroth hitting them both over the head with a dead limb before they would stop. _Honestly, thinking back on it, Genesis was impressed that Sephiroth had been able to hit them both over the head considering Genesis was almost a head taller than the boy and Angeal was a good head and a half taller, the boy had yet to grow into the long, lanky limbs that indicated that he would one day reach a good height.

_Sephiroth had not said anything after getting them to stop yelling at each other, no he had left that to the only female of their group. The petit little brunette looked sweet and innocent with those brown curls and green eyes, but Genesis and Angeal could both attest that she was quite capable of verbally filleting a person down one side and up the other if and when she wanted to. By the time she was done, a good twenty minutes later, Genesis had felt about two feet tall and Angeal even less. It had taken Sephiroth an additional thirty to forty minutes to coax Cloud out of the roots of a tree where he had curled himself up and hidden when the shouting had started. _

_Later that night after Cloud had wandered off to, hopefully, sleep, Sephiroth had sat down and spoken the most that any of the other three had ever heard as he explained that when they had been leaving Nibelheim, Cloud had bruises up and down his legs and the inner portion of his arms. It had taken Sephiroth a week, but finally Cloud told him that the bruises had come about when some of the other children of the village had taken part in their favorite pastime of catching Cloud outside without his mother and throwing rocks at him. _

From that point on, Genesis had been very careful to control his temper around Cloud and the others, and he guessed he was doing an okay job of it since this was the first time Cloud had been around him without Sephiroth being right beside him. Genesis had to smile as he settled back down with Cloud on his lap and his copy of _Loveless_ open in front of them and began reciting the prologue from memory and thought about the odd pairing the two youngest boys made. Sephiroth and Cloud had been inseparable since they were introduced to each other. Sephiroth opened up around Cloud in a way that he did not around the others and Cloud appeared to feel safest around Sephiroth and their silent protector.

Genesis paused in his recitation and reran that thought again before looking around their 'campsite' and back at Cloud, "where are the others?"

"Seph and 'Geal went to collect more firewood and Aerith said she heard singing so she was going to talk to…"

Cloud's explanation was cut short as a tall teenager with a short black ponytail and very distinct Wutain features stumbled into the clearing where they had set up their campsite. Genesis was not sure what _exactly_ he was saying since it was Wutainese, but based off of the man's body language and general demeaner, Genesis could make a good guess that it was words his mother would have washed his mouth out with soap if he was ever caught saying them.

Genesis stood and pushed Cloud behind himself while turning to put himself between Cloud and the intruder. He could feel the Fire materia on his bracer heating up as he got ready to defend them from what was more likely to be a threat than a simple lost traveler.

* * *

Tseng dodged what had to been the fiftieth Touch-Me that he had run into and tripped over a root sending him stumbling into a clearing cursing this forest and how it was most definitely out to get him.

When he got his bearings back, Tseng looked around the clearing that he had stumbled upon and stilled when he noticed an auburn haired young boy glaring across the clearing at him. Some yellow spikes of hair and a single blue eye peered out from the behind the boy at a little over knee height while a red glow was beginning to grow around the boys left arm.

"Finally! Of course you all had to hide in the most inaccessible, Goddess-forsaken, demon possessed, evil place on the Planet. And _of course_ he could not give me a map of where you all were, no, he said 'rely on your senses, you know how to find us without help.' When I get my hands on him, I'm going to wring his neck." Growled Tseng sitting himself down on a log around what looked to be the children's firepit and pulled off a shoe to start wringing out his sock.

The older boy looked over his shoulder and down to the younger one, they must have come to a silent decision that Tseng could not see because they both cautiously began to approach where Tseng was sitting.

The auburn haired one stopped outside of easy grabbing range and scrutinized Tseng with a fairly good glare for what he knew to be a ten year old.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Tseng opened his mouth to answer when he was cut off by a growl off to the left. All three turned quickly to see…

* * *

"_Are you sure this is everything they had?"_

"_Yes, every file I could find, and I left a virus on the computer to remove anything with the keywords you specified."_

"_Good, however we still don't know where they are keeping her and it's not recorded in any of these files. We might have to go to the source to locate her."_

"_Is there no other way?"_

"_There might be one other way…" _

1 Loveless Act 1


	4. Chapter 3

**Monsters Make the Best Pack**

**Chapter 3: When in doubt, ask a god**

Veld sighed and resisted the temptation to bash his head against his desk until this whole mess went away. Deciding that removing himself from temptation was the better part of valor in this circumstance, Veld grabbed his coffee cup and braved the main office space in order to refill his cup. Making it back to his office in one piece, Veld leaned against his door and sipped his coffee. Sighing again he moved slowly back to his computer and the seventh useless report that his Turks had sent him concerning the giant fiasco that was the past two months. It was days like today that made him miss his former partner, Vincent Valentine had disappeared from Nibelheim nine years ago while on assignment to assist and guard Professor Hojo and Professor Lucrecia Crescent. A body was never found, and days like today made Veld feel like Vincent would walk through the door and berate Veld for being an idiot and have some miraculous insight that would make this whole mess make more sense than the muddied Mako pond it was currently.

"_When you get stuck on a problem, start looking where you would least expect an answer." _

"Where you would least expect an answer, huh?" Veld pulled up Tseng's personnel file, his true one, not the one that Human Resources currently had on file.

_Birth Name: Unhelpful_

_Current Address: Stripped of all personal items that could be carried and already searched thoroughly._

_Family: Disowned Tseng when he left Wutai, they had already admitted, willingly, that Tseng had not contacted them in any way shape or form._

_Birthplace: Agents in Wutai had said there were no rumors or whispers that indicated a disowned son of a prominent family had returned. _

_Previous Affiliations: Mandatory service at the Temple of Leviathan, three years a guard-in-training for the royal court._

Another dead end, the same as all seven previous reports looking into the disappearance of Sephiroth, Angeal, Genesis, Aerith, and Tseng.

'Thank you Vincent. I listen to your advice and I am still exactly where I started,' thought Veld completely and totally exasperated and beginning to eye his desk once again with the urge to bash his head against it.

"_When researching, you don't look at only one source of information. You have to compile multiple points of view."_

"So look for information where you least expect it and multiple points of view. So personnel report plus useless reports equals… what exactly?" muttered Veld rubbing his temples.

Alright combine the sources. Report number one-Sephiroth vanishes from the Shinra mansion in Nibelheim and the Reactor explodes at the same time. Report number two-Aerith disappears from outside her home with no one the wiser. Nothing exploding in this instance. Report number three- Genesis and Angeal disappear from Banora as an earthquake and a bright light envelope the town. Report number four-Someone breaks into Veld's office and uses his computer to access and delete multiple files, the main ones being any and all information pertaining to reports numbers one, two, and three. Including files starting at the implementation and birth of Projects G and S. Report number five-Tseng's family cursed out the agent sent to inquire if they had any information on Tseng's whereabouts or where he might go. Report number six-follow up reports from Nibelheim, indicate that instances of monster encounters have dropped and strange sounds are emanating from the basement laboratories of Shinra mansion. Finally, report number seven-strange lights and noises heard from the Temple of Leviathan and family even more reluctant to cooperate with the Turks in general and Shinra in particular.

"Multiple points of view, multiple points of view, multiple…ugh! None of this makes any sense." Veld felt even more highly tempted to throw the files and his cup of coffee against the wall, maybe then this mess would be clearer. Okay, similarities between reports, children kidnapped from multiple locations within days of each other, explosions or weird light shows in several instances…weird lights in the same temple where Tseng spent his childhood years serving Leviathan…

"Martial Arts, Knife get the helicopter, we are going to Wutai," shouted Veld as he ran out the door of his office, throwing on his suit jacket as he went.

* * *

Tseng was running out of both patience and child friendly curses that he could use. Tseng glanced back at the five children following behind him and sighed. Angeal, Genesis, and Aerith seemed quite taken with the Wutain market; Sephiroth and Cloud on the other hand looked as though they were attempting to merge into one being and eyeing the merchants and shoppers like they would transform into Bombs and attack at any given moment. Tseng sighed again and decided keeping the kids safe was the extent of his job description at the moment, other, much more capable beings could attempt to fix the social problems that plagued the youngest two boys. Besides, they were in the market for a reason, all five children needed new clothes and books for schooling. Tseng had also been told to allow each child to select a souvenir or two to take back with them once they left Wutai and went to where they would hide next. Angeal had already picked out a small bonsai tree and was carrying it very carefully cradled in his arms as he walked next to Genesis. Aerith had been bought a pink ribbon that she now wore proudly in her hair and she had also picked out a blown glass flower in light pinks and yellows that sparkled in the sun as she skipped along between the two pairs of boys. Sephiroth had found a katana that Tseng had only felt momentarily wary about giving to an eight year old until the shopkeeper had shown them a practice katana that could be sharpened later on as the boy progressed. It had helped Tseng's argument that the hilt and sheath of the practice katana were wrapped in blue and black which appealed to the child more than the red and yellow that adorned the live blade. Genesis had found a red leather jacket that only partially clashed with his auburn hair, and made Genesis strut even more proudly, if that were even possible. That simply left Cloud to find something and then they could leave the market and return to Leviathans Temple where their 'benefactor/savior' was attempting to commune with the great water serpent. Considering the lack of explosions, Tseng would hazard a guess that he had thus far been unsuccessful, the same as he had been for the past week.

Tseng rolled his eyes at that last thought, the first day they had been here all seven of them had gone into the temple. The resulting light show and explosion of water had convinced them that keeping the children away from the temple would probably be the best course of action to reduce injuries. Which lead to Tseng taking the children to the market, because six days of keeping Genesis cooped up and reciting _Loveless_ until even Angeal had lost his patience and threatened to make the book disappear; Sephiroth's and Cloud's complete and utter lack of understanding of how to interact with any group of people bigger than just the two of them; and Aerith's bouts of knowing things she simply had no reason of knowing, had meant that it was either the market or murder in order to get everyone's energy out.

A small hand tugging on his jacket broke Tseng from his musings and brought his attention back to the present and the band of rapscallions he was in charge of. Aerith pointed at Cloud and Sephiroth who had fallen back from the group and wandered over to small stall set a little away from all the others. Cloud was looking intently at something in the stall and Sephiroth was standing protectively at his back with Cloud's small hand held tightly in his right and his practice katana held securely in his left.

With another sigh, and what was becoming an all to practiced ease at ignoring Aerith's knowing giggles and Genesis' smirks, Tseng walked back to see what had their youngest member so captivated. Unlike the other stalls that lined the market path, this stall seemed to cater to the younger generation that would be shopping with their families since it sold stuffed animals and wooden toys for keeping active hands and minds busy. Cloud looked up and pointed to a stuffed animal towards the center of the grouping, a black and grey wolf with blue button eyes. A roll of his eyes and a small chuckle was Tseng's only reply to Cloud's quiet prompting since he recognized why out of all the stuffed animals available Cloud had latched onto that particular one. Cloud latched onto the plush almost before Tseng had finished paying for it and turned a blinding smile up at Sephiroth before dragging him to go and show Genesis, Angeal, and Aerith his new wolf.

Just before he got there, the ground began to tremble and rumble and a blinding blue light shot up from the center of town. Tseng dove to grab Cloud and managed to scoop him up and grab Aerith's hand before the panicked crowds could separate them, being the two smallest they could easily get trampled underfoot or lost. Looking to the other boys, Tseng gave one command, knowing that even if they were separated these three were resourceful enough to follow through with it even if separated from him.

"Get to the temple."

* * *

Veld cursed as he, Martial Arts, and Knife pushed through the panicked crowds attempting to reach the temple where the light show was still taking place as the ground continued to rumble. Luckily, they had managed to land the helicopter and disembark before the chaos started, but really, Veld thought, he should have expected this level of insanity when they landed, after all this was the norm for the last few weeks.

'At least,' he thought, 'this one appears to be a semi-natural act of an annoyed summon/god and not a group of mysterious child-snatching, disappearing-act people. Unless they are the ones causing this, since you think Tseng might be here and Tseng possibly is working with the same child-snatching ring,' came the semi-sarcastic voice of reason that Veld was really starting to dislike.

With one last push, the three Turks made it out of the crowd of panicked villagers and onto the temple grounds. The temple building itself was engulfed in blue light that was slowly fading and shrinking back down into the middle of the temple. Unsure of the smarts of such a decision, Veld and his Turks slowly followed the receding light as it drew back into the temple proper. Once the light reached the inner court where the mural of Leviathan resided, it began to fade along with its shrinking and two silhouettes began to be visible within it, one a giant snake-like form and the other more humanoid in shape.

Before Veld could get a good look at the forms, rapid footsteps sounded from the pathway behind them and Veld's missing Turk rounded the corner. Veld had enough time to register that Tseng had changed from his blue suit and into dark pants, a dark blue button down shirt, and a leather jacket with a small spiky haired blond child attached to his hip with their face buried in Tseng's neck in such a way that Veld could only hazard a guess that the child was a boy; and attached to his other hand was a young girl in brown pants with a pink, flowered kimono top and a pink ribbon in her brown curls, that Veld instantly recognized as one of the missing kids that he was tasked with finding. In the time it took Veld to register all of this he saw Tseng's eyes widen and he turned around and took off back down the hallway. Veld, Martial Arts, and Knife gave chase, but even with two kids slowing him down, Tseng managed to stay ahead of the Turks and make it out of the temple ahead of them. Veld cursed knowing that with his knowledge of the town, if Tseng made it out of the temple grounds ahead of them he would be long gone.

Veld blinked rapidly as he skid into the bright sunshine outside the temple and stopped in shock as he realized that Tseng stood in the middle of the courtyard, alone. As his Turks moved in to arrest Tseng, Veld surveyed the open courtyard, devoid of any nook or cranny in which Tseng could have hidden Aerith or the mystery child. With a grimace, Veld observed the rocky set of Tseng's features and knew that he was going to regret what would happen upon their return to Midgar, but he could not see any way of keeping Tseng from Hojo's claws.

* * *

As they left the courtyard and headed back to the helicopter to leave for Midgar, Veld paid no attention to the black and white feathers that blew across the courtyard.


	5. Chapter 4

**Monsters Make the Best Pack**

**Chapter 4: Lab Work is Not Always Helpful**

**A.N.-No actual mention of torture, in any way, shape, or form, in this chapter. However, it is alluded to, plus Hojo's sadistic tendencies are shown in this chapter. Be careful reading this chapter if you think this will affect you mentally/physically in any way. **

_Pain. Everything was pain and fire with ribbons of blue and green pervading every sense in cold burning fire._

'This is why Turks are trained to not play hero' _was Tseng's last thought before he allowed the whispering voices to drag him down below the every flowing shades of blue and green._

* * *

"Hmph…I guess Shinra's so-called 'best' is not just a pretty title if you were able to keep your mouth shut through all of that. Unfortunately for you, little Turk, President Shinra is more interested in results than how you come out of this questioning. Let's see what we have that will wake you up." Hojo muttered to himself putting the bloody scalpel down on the tray and wandering over to the vials organized neatly against the far wall.

"If you had taken those two failures of Hollander's I might have praised you, or even that farce that Gast is trying to pass off as an Ancient revived. Hmmm, maybe I should be praising you, this could be a perfect field test for my specimen and it does open up an opportunity for me to truly see if Gast's _wife_ is as truly incapable of accessing the Centra consciousness as they claim." Having found the vile he needed, Hojo turned back to the stripped teen strapped securely to the steel examining table.

"You know, that's why President Shinra is allowing me you and not Ilfana, he believes Gast's lies that implanted Jenova cells are what awakened the little brat's connection to the Planet and that the same procedure was ineffective on the carrier." A quick needle under the skin and an annoyed growl when all that resulted was a rapid flutter of eye movement under stationary eyelids and no other response interrupted Hojo's monologue for a moment. Hojo stalked back over to the counter and grabbed a different bottle of chemicals. Before he could insert the needle, a sickly sweet female's voice slid through his mind, leaving behind a truly ingenious idea.

With a dark chuckle, Hojo left the teenage specimen strapped to the table and went down the hall to his office in order to get the supplies needed to see her plan to fruition, completely missing the quiet tick of claws against the linoleum.

* * *

_Antiseptic_

_Antiseptic and blood_

_Antiseptic and blood_

_Antiseptic, blood, and the sour scent of fear_

_Antiseptic and ichor_

_Antiseptic, ichor, and blood_

_Don't think about it_

_Don't think about it_

_Do. Not. Think. About. It!_

Zack shook his furry head hard enough to feel his ears flop against his skull.

He hated labs, he detested labs, he…honestly could not come up with any other words to show how he felt about labs. At least he was breaking into the one here in Midgar, the flashbacks when breaking into the one in Nibelheim had been hell. Which is why he felt completely justified in the fact that he _may_ have used too much explosive when destroying the reactor.

_Eh…no one liked that mountain peak anyway. And Banora was soooo not my fault. Nope, not in the least. And Wutai….well…okay…he and Leviathan had never been on the best of terms, so he probably should have seen that coming._

_Focus Zackary!_ _Rescue and chew out Tseng for playing the sacrificial idiot, gah, I _hate_ being the adult. Stupid time travel, stupid teenagers, stupid bitchy gods who can't answer a simple question _in order to save the world_ without having to show off their _divine_ power._

Another hard shake of his head, Zack paused where the hallway branched off to the left and right and put his nose to the ground trying to find where the sadistic bastard had taken Tseng in order to "interrogate" him.

_Honestly this would be much simpler if the Turks had him, less chemical smells to get through up there._ _Now I've already taken a left, a left, and a right…whoever designed this rat's maze should be shot…and Hojo's lab should be to the left, so left it is. _

The quiet 'tik, tik, tik' of Zack's claws on the linoleum echoed in the too sterile hallway as he stopped by each door to take a whiff, trying to catch a trace of Tseng's scent.

_If they've moved him then I'm gonna…Got Ya! and that is a lot of blood, paws and teeth are not gonna cut it to get you out of here. Let's see security cameras are usually…right there. _

* * *

If the SOLDIER Third Class on duty in the security office had been paying attention, then the tower alarm system would have been activated when the giant grey and black wolf with blue eyes had wandered into the lab where Professor Hojo was questioning the suspected traitor Turk. The alarms definitely would have been raised when a Thundara took out the two security cameras in the lab. Alarms would have been passed raised if the cameras had still been working for the SOLDIER to see a blue/green light envelope the wolf and a tall, muscular young man in a First Class officer's uniform take its place.

The man ran his hand through his long, spiky raven hair while he propped a hand on his hip and observed the rooms with piercing purple and green ringed eyes that glowed even in the bright lights of the lab. With a shake of his head, the man marched over to a cabinet in the corner of the room and removed a white sheet from a high level shelf. He marched back over to the teenager and carefully removed the wrist, ankle, and chest straps before wrapping him carefully in the sheet. Being as gentle as possible, the man picked up the wrapped teenager bridal style and they both disappeared in a flash of blue light.

* * *

When Hojo returned to his lab, less than five minutes later, it would be to find the lab empty and no signs of anyone having left, the same as all three previous disappearances.


	6. Chapter 5

**Monsters Make the Best Pack**

**Chapter 5- Looking Back to Go Forward**

**A.N.-Zack has a potty mouth. Sorry, not sorry.**

Zack sighed as he ran a hand steadily through wild blond spikes. He and all his kids were currently sitting around the bed where Tseng was recovering from Hojo's "interrogation." He had to hand it to Aerith, even as young as she was and lacking in practice, she had managed to heal the worst of the lacerations and other eclectic damage that had been done in the six short (endlessly long) hours between Tseng's arrival at Hojo's lab and Zack's incredibly daring rescue of him. Unfortunately, even Aerith's supernatural affinity for anything healing related had not been able to fix all of the damage done, especially since Zack had had to stop her before she needed medical attention herself, and summoning Phoenix at the moment would be a pain- seeing as Zack had left the useful red summon material in Nibelheim.

_Definitely did not think that day through,_ thought Zack as he sighed and leaned his head back to _thunk_ solidly against the wall as he observed the hypnotic lights that danced along the ceiling of their latest hiding spot in the Forgotten City.

Waking up after being dead for almost four decades had been rough; waking up after being dead for almost four decades, in a fully functioning body with a few extras thrown in, in a town that should not exist, in a decade that was so far in the past as to seem almost ancient history had been rougher. Looking back, Zack could admit that most of his decisions those first few days had been driven strongly by an equal mix panic and shock.

After Cloud had defeated the Remnants (three truly sweet kids, once you got past the psychotic tendencies) putting Sephiroth/Jenova to rest; and Vincent/Chaos had defeated Omega WEAPON, and simultaneously Deepground, the Planet had settled into a time of rebirth and renewal. The same, however, could not be said for the Lifestream.

It had started out as a small 'infection' that slowly grew and built as more Jenova cells and mako tainted bodies had joined the already severely weakened Lifestream. The few Ancients that were still "conscious" had attempted to beat back the infection by channeling their power through Aerith, and it had seemed to work for a time. But like all infections, when not completely wiped out, it comes back stronger and more resilient than it was previously. In a last ditch effort the Goddess decided to prevent the infection by removing the beginning source by sending someone back to prevent Jenova's tainted remains from entering the Lifestream. To that end, she required someone from the Lifestream who was privy to the situations and myriad of convoluted twist that existed at the time, but one who could resist being manipulated by Jenova into not destroying her. Somehow, out of all the possible candidates, Zack had been the one chosen to get sent hurtling back through time, to be roughly shoved back into a living, breathing body in order to try and fix the mess that Shinra, in its greed, had caused.

* * *

No one who had known Zack in his life, either before or after the whole dying thing, would have been surprised by the supreme lack of planning that was the running theme of Zack's first week, and apparently each succeeding week, back in the past.

The Goddess' plan in sending Zack back to the past was to have him prevent Jenova's preserved remains from falling into the mako pool of the reactor when Cloud stabbed Sephiroth, and apparently her plan was for him to do so in the form of a strain of Nibel wolf. Which made some sense to Zack's way of thinking since he had originally been alive during this time and was used to moving around in the form of a wolf from his spyin..*ahem* looking after of Cloud and his friends.

Therefore Zack's first order of business, after a miniature panic attack and a short bout of trying to catch his own tail, was attempting to find out the exact date of when he had been dumped. Way too much math later-and catching sight of a very chibi and absolutely adorable Cloud-Zack learned that the Goddess had left him much further in the past than she had implied in her completely and utterly unhelpful 'mission briefing.' Watching the small body of his best friend wander lonely on the very edge of the woods, Zack thought back on what he had been told, in small snippets, about Cloud's childhood which lead to him thinking about Sephiroth's childhood, or lack thereof, which lead to thoughts of Genesis and Angeal, and thoughts of Angeal lead to thoughts of Aerith.

In that moment, Zack thought he understood now why the Goddess had been so vague in her instructions and why she had sent him so far back into the past, not just to when Jenova's preserved body was dumped into the Lifestream, but back to when all the human beings who carried her cells in their bodies were young and still impressionable. They needed his help just as much as Jenova's remains needed to be destroyed and he intended to help them in the best way he knew how, and if he picked up a few others…well who said saving the world had to stop with just the ones directly involved in the craziness.

So Zack set out on his four furry feet to change the fate of the world.

* * *

_Bright florescent lights buzzed overhead, overworked trying to light the subterranean space whispered in his ears a distracting cadence. _

_The rotten smell of stagnant mako overlaid by the sickly sweet smell of drying blood almost overwhelmed his nose. _

_Fear and sweat drifted from every corner._

_The combined scent of fur, blood, gun oil, mako, and material poured from behind the heavy wooden door to his left. 'Close and familiar, but not quite right. Still further.'_

_There the smell of cleaning chemicals, books and ink, the sharp tang of fresh new mako, and underneath the sweet smell of chocolate. 'Found you.'_

_A flash of silver turned to see and _Zack got the pleasure of watching cat-slit green eyes widen in surprise as their owner looked up from a book almost thick enough to be used as a weapon and caught sight of what appeared to be a wild animal wandering around the underground lab.

Zack did not even try to contain his gleeful smile when he transformed from a wolf back into a man and saw those luminescent green eyes get even wider in shock. He also worked very hard, and simultaneously thanked and cursed every mission with Tseng that meant he succeeded, to keep that same smile on his face while the white hot rage against Shinra in general, and Hojo in particular bubbled up in his gut at how easy it was to convince Sephiroth to leave with Zack.

It should not be that simple to convince a child to leave the only living space-Zack refused to call it a home or anything even resembling one-they had ever known and go who knows where with a man/wolf or wolf/man that they had never met before. That anger burned even hotter when the only items Sephiroth packed were two changes of clothes-white shirts and pants that resembled scrubs-and a battered book of fairy tales that Sephiroth pulled out of a hidden nook that he accessed by removing one of the bricks from the wall under his bed.

Zack was fairly certain that the fire in his soul could rival that of a Nibel dragon with heartburn when the two of them finally made it out of the lab and into the beautiful spring mountain day, and it took him ten minutes longer to convince Sephiroth to step foot in the grass around the mansion than it did to get the boy to come with him. _Agoraphobia_ or _Casadastraphobia, _two words he had picked up from way too much time spent helping Tseng fill out paperwork instead of working on SOLDIER paperwork, and fit perfectly with a child raised in isolation and treated more as a semi-sentient science project than a living, breathing child. Luckily, or unluckily as the case may be, Zack had plenty of practice handling panic attacks and was able to coax Sephiroth away from the mansion and into the surrounding woods. Once there the abundance of flora and fauna succeeded in distracting the curious boy and dispelled the rest of his fear.

* * *

_The tinny chirp of thousands of mechanical birds still echoing in his ears carried even further on the chilly mountain breeze._

_Jump over the natural mako pool to avoid the cluster of Bombs in the path._

_Finally, the clean, uncontaminated scent of pine and fresh dirt._

_Blond and silver and a hint of blue eyes, huddled together against pale stone face._

_Heat and sound drown out the rest of the world._

Zack called himself seven kind of idiot in Common and Wutain as he threw his giant furry body on top of the two boys who were huddled together against the mountain face.

_Note to self leave the bomb making up to Rude, second mental note locate Rude-or at least _someone_ with a brain. Cause I think I'm gonna need the help._ Zack blessed thick fur as rock and possible shrapnel bounced mostly harmlessly off his back and left the two boys hidden underneath his body unharmed. He was going to need to get a hold of his anger if it was going to result in him completely screwing up things he should be able to do without even thinking about them. However, with memories of Hojo fresh in his mind-compounded by the fresh anger of removing Sephiroth from that hell hole-added to the new anger of finding Cloud nursing a livid purple/black bruise on the trip up to the reactor, and then throw in a oh, so pleasant dash of discovering _that bitch JENOVA was not in the reactor_ made keeping his temper in check somewhat of a moot point. The only bright spot in all this mess was that Sephiroth and Cloud had taken one look at each other and Zack could almost see the overprotective big brother instincts kick into gear. It was cute, in an almost disturbing manner, and it meant that Seph had dragged Cloud up the mountain with them, which lead to Zack having to protect one fairly resilient child and one extremely breakable child instead of just the child who healed at ridiculous speeds.

Once the mountain had stopped shaking, Sephiroth told Zack that it was their duty to return Cloud to his home back down the mountain. Staring into slit pupil eyes hardened in uncertain determination and highly confused blue, Zack was pleased that he was still in his wolf form as it would have been much more difficult to hide his amusement in the face of such adorableness.

Returning Cloud to his house had not gone the way that Zack had assumed it would. Somehow, dropping off Cloud had turned into a hot, homemade meal; new clothes for Sephiroth; a night spent in a real bed; and Zack leaving in the morning with two children dogging his every step and not one. The former SOLDIER First Class was unsure how it had happened, but he put it down to the fact that Ms. Strife reminded him way too much of his own mother, and no one said no to either woman.

* * *

Zack was thanking every weird situation he had ever gotten into as a child, a cadet, a SOLDIER third, second, and first, and being friends with Reno for more than six months for allowing him to regroup so quickly after realizing that the handy little teleportation ability that the Goddess had granted him along with his furry other form had dumped him somewhere much colder than Mideel should be even in the early spring. Stashing the kids somewhere safe was the first order of business, then he could try and figure out what had gone wrong.

Traveling around the village, his attention was caught by _green life growing higher and stronger twined together with glowing mako and singing Lifestream harmonized with gentle humming._

_Raised voices from the open window were a jarring counter-note to the peaceful scene outside small building._

Instinct had been such a part of Zack's life that it took no thought at all to realize why his mode of travel had gone so haywire, the Goddess must have been watching him and decided to add to his plan. If he had doubted that then the determined look in spring green eyes, that already knew what he was there for, would have convinced him and had him resigned to the fate he had gotten himself into.

_A decision made in green eyes much older than the face they resided in, and brown locks join blond and silver._

* * *

_After the oppressive cold of the Northern Continent the light, sweet scent of strange purple apples and warm refreshing air was a shock to eveyones' systems. _

_Scent is useless because of the extreme permeation of apple scent on the breezes, however sharp ears catch the soft murmur of a poem long since memorized and oft repeated. _

_High in the boughs of a bent tree shone a flash of bright, exuberant red; and closer to the ground the steadying presence of calm raven. _

_Closer still, and now the smell of fire and earth mixed with mako and fledgling feather down. _

_A flash of radiant, divine light and ringing metal; and then_ Zack was once again singing the Goddess' praises in his head. His plan had not gone much further than collecting the children who Shinra had infected with Jenova cells, but once again the Goddess was taking his fledgling plans and turning them into real functioning ones by healing Genesis and Angeal of their degradation.

The majority of the Lifestream's problems had taken place when Jenova was dumped in the Lifestream-and Zack was starting to feel like a broken record with that thought; but Jenova may have never made it into the Lifestream if Genesis had not started degrading. Genesis' search for healing and validation, Angeal's hunt for a reason not to be a monster, Sephiroth's suppressed dream of finding an accepting family-those were the root of the problem and Zack hoped he could be the cure for each of these shattered children.

* * *

_Second mental note-find someone with a brain-done. _Zack thought watching a young Tseng completing a mission under the Plate. A young Tseng was a strange thing to see, a young, inexperienced Tseng was an even stranger thing to see since he was more accustomed to seeing the composed, aloof deputy director of the Turks and not this rookie. But even under the hesitancy and awkward movement of a body not long out of puberty, there were signs that the analytical mind Zack had always admired was still there. Hopefully that analytical mind would listen to Zack's explanation and not dismiss him out of hand, because Zack had officially run out of his plan and instinct had finally slowed enough for logic to break through. Logic that was telling Zack he really should have thought things through and had more of a plan than just 'snatch and run.' Hopefully, Tseng would be able to fix the mess Zack had made.

With a wry chuckle, Zack walked out of the shadows he had been observing from and approached who he hoped would once again be a good friend.

* * *

Tseng should not have in here. Veld had taken one look at Tseng's obvious Wutain features and unlike everyone else in Shinra, he had not dismissed the teenager as an enemy but accepted Tseng into the ranks of blue-suited Turks. Now here was Tseng in Veld's dimly lit office that was illuminated only by the softly glowing computer screen looking for any files mentioning the key words the strange man he had met under the plate had given him.

_Nibelheim, Shinra Mansion, Dr. Hojo, S project; the Northern Crater, Dr. Gast, Promised Land; Banora, Dr. Hollander, G project. Explosions and disappearances and distinct footprints left at all three scenes. _

He should not have listened when the tall man wearing a SOLDIER first class uniform and carrying a large buster sword strapped to his back had approached him from the shadows under the Plate. The tale of death, rebirth, divine intervention, and time travel that spewed forth from the man really should not have been believable, but the obvious nervous tick of running his constantly running a hand through shoulder length black spikes and standing hunched in order to make himself appear smaller lent an air of believability to the tale. The details the man included from Tseng's own life that were not even in his service file at Shinra had lent even more credence to the wild tale, which had lead to Tseng breaking into his boss' office at 00-dark-hundred in order to remove all traces of the man's deeds from Shinra's computers. _The quiet click of the office lock and soft tap of polished shoes on linoleum covered the quiet chime of the only computer in the building connected to the main server of the Shinra Electric Company deleting all selected files and spreading a virus of Tseng's own creation into all the company computers. _

* * *

Zack shook his head hard to break the trance the hypnotic lights had placed him under and looked down at all is his kids. Tseng was still lying still on the bed, but his color was finally starting to return to his more normal olive shade and not the pasty white it had been previously. Aerith was curled up on the bed at Tseng's hip, both of her hands clutching one of Tseng's hands tight to her chest. Genesis and Angeal were curled together in the corner of the room, black and white wings wrapped together around each other in comfort. Sephiroth was sat on Zack's left, head tucked against Zack's ribs where he could hear Zack's heartbeat calm and steady, green eyes fogged with sleep but fighting the urge to close his eyes even now. Cloud was on Zack's right with his head resting in Zack's lap, lulled into sleep by the steady rhythm of Zack running his hand through wild blond spikes.

Zack had to give Tseng credit, if he had not gotten Genesis and Angeal to carry Sephiroth, Cloud, and Aerith to the roof of the shrine, and Sephiroth had not convinced Genesis to tail the Turks back to their chopper then Zack would not have known where to begin looking for Tseng. If Genesis did not have an eidetic memory and Sephiroth not been taught all the members of Shinra's military personnel, then Zack would not have even known the names of the bastards that had stolen his oldest kid and tried to abscond with him.

The chewing out Zack had given Leviathan when he had gotten out of the shrine and been bombarded by five frantic children in near hysterics had been cathartic if not entirely helpful, but he could not believe that the bloody water lizard would allow one of his children to be taken by foreigners while stone-walling Zack on the help he needed. The cold-blooded lizard had finally listened to Zack and given him the answer he needed on how to find Jenova, wherever Hojo had hidden her body.

As soon as Tseng woke up, Zack would be making a trip back to Nibelheim to pick up a few things he had forgotten.

* * *

**A.N. **Agoraphobia is the fear of leaving the house/or the fear of being in public, Casadastraphobia- according to Urbandictionary, is the fear of falling into the sky/fear of the sky. Sephiroth's upbringing has always made me think of the cases of feral children that we studied in psychology class, just not as severe. And anyone raised in such isolation would have a few psychological quirks.


	7. Chapter 6

**Monsters Make the Best Pack**

**Chapter 6: Once is Happenstance, Twice is a Coincidence, But Three Times is a Habit**

Veld very calmly and very carefully returned the phone handset to its cradle; then he-very rationally-contemplated whether shooting the damn thing would be as satisfying as shooting the Gaia-damned person responsible for making his life a living hell these past five weeks. Determining that dealing with the whimpering idiot that Supplies would no doubt send to replace the phone, would only exasperate his headache, not relieve it; Veld gave into the less destruction, and no more helpful, impulse of dropping his head onto his desk with a solid _thunk_.

In an hour he was going to have to go back into that conference room of doom from two weeks ago and explain-again-that he and his men had no idea how this mysterious group of people continued to get past all forms of Shinra security and then back out with dependent children or severely injured persons in tow. And now without said injured person in their custody, all leads to locating the missing children had completely dried up.

_Maybe now would be a good time to pull a _Vincent_ and vanish off the face of the planet._

Veld felt as though a Blizzard was set off point blank against his back as he repeated that thought again. The circumstances of Vincent's disappearance-not death, never death, no matter what the official report said-had never sat right in Veld's gut. Vincent had been Veld's partner since the day both young men had joined the Shinra Turks. With his record, if Vincent had still been around when the former director has _*ahem*_ stepped down, then Veld would not be the one sitting in this office contemplating phone homicide, Vincent would be. Instead, Vincent had accepted a mission, a little over eight years ago, to guard Professors Lucrecia Crescent and Hojo as they began work on a top secret experiment in Nibelheim. Five months after accepting the mission, the former director had called Veld into his office and informed him that Vincent was K.I.A.-killed in action- while on his mission in Nibelheim. The man's tenure as director had not lasted long past that meeting, and Veld's first order of business upon being stuck behind the desk in the director's office, was to set two of his best agents to looking into everything that had gone on at the Shinra Mansion and the truth about what had happened to Vincent Valentine.

In the eight years since setting his people to discretely look into the cover-up, because Veld would never be convinced it was not a cover-up until he was looking at Vincent's cadaver, the only new information that was revealed was that Vincent had never left the Shinra Mansion. Surreptitious looks around the underground sections of the mansion had not revealed any further evidence, either in the form of a body or, unfortunately, lab reports. Sadly, for all his insanity, Hojo had always been meticulous in his keeping of records, and anything that was researched, observed, or experimented on was recorded, in graphic, gory detail. So the lack of files, while frustrating, pointed the investigation away from Professor Hojo, even if Veld's instincts told him he was missing something on that front.

Veld shot up so fast that his chair spun around and banged in the back wall. That Blizzard had turned into a Thunder across his nerves, as Veld scrabbled to pull out the recreated paper file of the kidnapping of Subject S/Sephiroth. Unlike the original file that Tseng had taken upon his fleeing from Shinra, this file contained background and a picture of Sephiroth, and that is what Veld was searching for now. Finding the picture, Veld felt the air punched out of his lungs and one look at the age of the child made sure getting that air back was a struggle.

Grabbing his jacket, Veld rushed out of the office and signaled Martial Arts and Knife to prepare the chopper. That meeting to be chewed out by the President and anxious parents/scientists would just have to wait, Veld just might have a new lead into finding the missing children.

_Age: Eight Years _

* * *

_Shinra Mansion falling down,_

_Falling down, falling down,_

_Shinra Mansion falling down, pretty explosions._

_Find the key, unlock the coffin_

_Lock the coffin, lock the coffin,_

_Find the key, unlock the coffin,_

_Unleash Chaos._

Zack continued to mentally sing his little diddy to take his mind off the fact that he was once again breaking into the underground labs of the Shinra Mansion. Luckily for his sanity, this time he had remembered the underground tunnels that Cloud and the others had found in the future; and after a bit of digging, he was using this unfamiliar entry way, which helped for cutting back on the annoying flashbacks of losing Sephiroth to insanity in the hidden library, four years used as Hojo's expendable lab rat, and then the mad dash to get an extremely sick Cloud out of Hojo's grasp and into the hopefully healing hands of his best friend.

Zack crouched in the shadows between rough hewn tunnel and man-made hallway, scenting the stale recycled air of the lab. With Sephiroth safely in the Forgotten City and Hojo ensconced in Shrinra's main headquarters in Midgar, the majority of the human scents in the lab were several weeks old. The small patrol crew of SOLDIER and skeleton crew of white coats would be easy enough to avoid, the hard part would be finding the correct hidden key for unlocking the correct coffin.

_Nothing to it, but to do it. _With a canine grin, Zack set off to have a little fun-two weeks being the responsible adult look after kids, meant his "play time" had been cut significantly. Maybe after this Zack should look into finding a good place with low level monsters to train the boys with and get some of his energy out as well. Bone village would offer a good place for the boys to train, and several of the people working there were either from Cosmo Canyon or adhered to their beliefs and would be good teachers for Aerith. Cloud would simply be fascinated by all the excavation sights and easily entertained by all the work going on, after all even Zack would admit that four years old is still a bit young to be fighting monsters, no matter how stubborn and seemingly indestructible said four year old might grow up to be.

Twenty minutes of trying to determine if claws and teeth work better than the Buster Sword, Zack finally had the right key and was curiously observing his human fingernails, trying to figure out how monster gunk was not under his human nails, when it was fairly liberally spread all over his paws and claws.

_Eh, who cares, fur and claws are much easier to clean and getting gunk out from under human nails, no matter how short they are kept, was always the worst part of finishing any mission. Best not to look gift Chocobo in the beak. Now which of these coffins holds out not-so-dead, dead guy._

Zack inserted the key into the lock and right before he twisted it, a Genesis-level-madness grin spread across his face.

* * *

Dim light filtered through a small crack awakened Vincent from the semi-trance he had floated in for an indefinite amount of time. Turk training had Vincent aware and listening closely for shifts in air currents, the shifting of debris under boots, or subtle breathing; trying to determine who and how many were waiting outside his coffin and disturbing his penance.

Vincent felt the first stirrings of confusion for the first time in several years. If Hojo and his lackeys had been the ones outside of his coffin, then the lid would have already been ripped up and Vincent would have been pumped so full of tranquilizer that blinking would have been labor some. Instead the lid was only partially cracked and the only sound Vincent could hear was a quiet, rhythmic _swish_ and easy measured breathing close to the coffin lid. Curiosity that even fifteen years in the Turks had been unable to completely squash within him had Vincent bursting out of his coffin in a burst of red and black, too fast for the human eye to follow, and landing perched on the edge of the coffin.

Shock was also a new return emotion for Vincent. The coffin room was completely empty, except for a large grey/black Nibel wolf sitting beside the coffin and wagging its tail slowly, tongue hanging out in the approximation of a doggy grin.

Vincent scanned the room one more time and, determining there really was nothing in the room aside from a seemingly tame wolf, he returned to his coffin once more and pulled the lid shut with a sharp click.

Settling back down to his lifetime of penance and isolation, Vincent was surprised when the lid of the coffin again clicked open. Not taking the time to assess his surroundings this time, Vincent threw up the lid to the coffin and found himself face to muzzle with the wolf. A preliminary scan of the room showed that it was still devoid of people, whether the gun/sword carrying or the white coat type.

Vincent looked at the rather large wolf and quickly dismissed the inane thought that popped up in his mind, after all wolves did not have the dexterity, either in paws or teeth to turn the small key needed to open Vincent's coffin.

When nothing continued to present itself to Vincent's senses while he was seated in the coffin, he decided that a brief look around would be more beneficial to allowing him to return to his solitude, than simply shutting the coffin lid. Shuffling out of the coffin at a more human pace, joints that had not moved in years creaked and popped in the way of all human bodies that have been stationary. Whether the body in question has superior healing abilities or not, some things are just intrinsic to the human condition called life.

Vincent groaned softly and massaged his right hand over the gold clawed gauntlet that had been implanted as a replacement for his left arm in the early days of Hojo's experiments on the un-dead Turk. A perimeter sweep of the room gave Vincent no more information of what was going on than his preliminary sensory sweep had shown. The barely audible tick of canine claws followed Vincent around the room as he swept the perimeter and looked through each coffin, the only logical hiding spots in the cave-like room. Finding Death Penalty locked into one of the other coffins was a bit of a welcome surprise; even if Vincent never intended to leave the locked room, having the golden tri-barreled weapon back in his grip was a reassuring weight against the uncertainty of his awakening.

Gray wolf ears pricked up and swiveled on a suddenly alert form, before the wolf streaked off and disappeared behind the coffins stacked at the back edge of the cave. Vincent was distracted from wondering about the strange animal as the wooden door scrapped across the floor as it was slowly pushed open.

Vincent felt his red eyes widen as the door opened to reveal his former partner standing outlined in the doorway flanked by two women in blue suits.

* * *

_Eight years, eight years he's been locked up down here. What has happened to him?_

This was the only thought spiraling through Veld's mind as he signaled Knife and Martial Arts to guard the door as he stepped fully into the room and nudged the door shut with his foot. The room was not a true room, more a naturally hewn cave lit in a soft blue glow by natural mako crystals that cast an eerie blue glow on stacks of brown coffins and scattered red coffins.

Vincent stood in the middle of the scattered red coffins observing Veld with an almost apathetic interest, in direct opposition to the fervent way Veld was looking at his old partner.

Vincent's formerly shoulder length hair no extended well down his back and was held back from his face by a bright red headband. His pristine blue suit was replaced by black leather pants, a black leather shirt, a raggedy red cape, and more buckles than Veld had seen on anyone other than the Under-Plate punks that hung out as runners around the HoneyBee Inn. Instead of sensible black boots, he had on metal gold pointed _things_, whether they were shoes or overlays was unclear. The same went for the gold metal gauntlet with wicked claws that covered his left arm and extended up to his elbow. The most shocking change however was the fact that Vincent's formally black eyes that heralded back to his Wutain heritage were now a startling shade of crimson.

Crimson eyes that closed in apparent resignation before their owner turned and walked away from Veld and toward one of the few open coffins in the room.

Now Veld would not say that he was expecting a joyous reunion with hugs and tears, but eight years ago Vincent would have at least approached his partner, not turned his back and walked away as though Veld was a stranger, not someone he had spent ten years working alongside in some of the worst conditions on Gaia. Veld felt the repressed anger and anxiety of eight years bubble up and explode as he strode across the room and grabbed Vincent's shoulder.

Or attempted to grab Vincent's shoulder, the hand he had raised to grab Vincent fell through empty space to land back at his side as Vincent disappeared in a swirl of red fabric to appear facing Veld with his back to the cave wall, the only part of him visible being his red eyes, the rest of him shielded by cloak and hair.

"What are you doing here Veld?" rasped Vincent, gun and claw positioned for an easy attack.

Veld swallowed and held his hands out in half supplication and half defense, "I'm here, partner, because after eight years evidence finally surfaced that _proved_ you were still alive. And I was not going to waste one more day wondering what the oh, so _esteemed_ Professor had done that prevented you from returning for eight years. Eight years Vincent!" Veld finished in a shout.

Taking a deep breath, Veld straightened the cuffs of his suit and locked eyes with Vincent, "Eight years, I have looked for my partner for eight years and now in a single week I discover the child of my partner, a child the exact same age of how long my partner has been missing. And when I go to check why my partner might have abandoned his offspring to the hands of one of the most sadistic scientists even your father knew of, I find said partner that would have only abandoned his child if he were truly dead."

Veld's eyes bore even harder into red eyes that were widening further and further in shock as Veld's tirade continued and he dropped his voice down to a mere whisper, "Now, do you care to explain, _partner_, why I find you here, _willingly_," a scoff, "because with your skills this room would be simple to escape from, while your son is in the hands of some unknown group of kidnappers?"

Veld should not have taken as much satisfaction as he did at seeming a crack in Vincent's composure, but his partner should not have come back from the dead as such an ass. And oh, Vincent might not have spoken a single word yet, but Veld had been his partner for ten years. They had been through more life-or-death, make-a-decision or you're dead situations than Veld cared to count at this point in time; however, all of those situations meant that Veld was more than capable of reading Vincent's body language-eight years and a new look be damned.

"Well, thanks for getting all of the hard explanations out of the way for me, _Director._ But we really must be going now," chirped an entirely too cheerful voice and Veld was forced to watch as a tall, spiky-black haired young man threw his arm around Vincent's shoulder. A cocky smile and glowing blue-purple eyes were the last thing Veld registered before the stranger and Vincent disappeared in a swirl of green light.

* * *

**A.N.- Zeynel- "Are you reading my mind? This chapter was actually planned out before the last chapter was written and so the last line was purposely written to have this whole situation occurring."**

**So apparently if I try to write Zack at 1 in the morning he begins singing London Bridge is Falling Down and channeling Loki, oops. Also what is "nothing to it, but to do it" from, my usual source of information isn't around to ask questions?**


	8. Chapter 7

**Monsters Make the Best Pack**

**Chapter 7: Seeing is Believing **

**Reading Key- (Vincent is a pain) **'_speaking'_-single quote + italics= Chaos

'speaking'- single quote + no italics=Vincent thinking

_**Feeling**_-instincts/impressions from Galian Beast

As the last of the swirling lights dissipated, Vincent whirled around, breaking the weak hold around his chest and raised Death Penalty, intending to interrogate his abductor. He caught glimpses of glowing white walls, shimmers of reflected water, and dead reaching branches, as he spun to see…absolutely no one behind him.

The soft rustle of fur and quiet click of claws against stone drew Vincent's attention from the sight of an eerie and empty, bone-white forest, downward to see a wolf sitting quite contentedly at his feet. If he had not known any better, Vincent would have sworn it was the same wolf from the lab.

'_Do we know any better? After all the creature was wandering around Hojo's lab.'_ Mused the darker of the voices in Vincent's head.

'Also the only one who can speak in a human tongue,' came the stray thought as Vincent fell into a staring contest with the entirely too calm wild animal. A wild animal, whose unblinking eyes, appeared to glow with some inner light, as they bore into Vincent's equally unblinking red eyes.

_**Alpha, **__**¿**__**no want/need submit?, confusion/wonder**_

Vincent hated listening to the voices in his head, one of the many reasons he stayed in his self-imposed isolation, but unfortunately Chaos brought up a good point and Galian Beast's instincts were making this already confusing situation even more so, as they partially over rode Vincent's own in their intensity. Apparently, Chaos was enjoying the change of scenery-joy-and Galian Beast felt the simultaneous need to submit to the strange wolf as an alpha beast and also treat it as an equal.

Deciding ignoring Chaos was the only sane way to handle the immortal being sharing his soul, Vincent decided to attempt and unravel his most primal joint resident's feelings. Galian Beast was the most friendly of Vincent's soul interlopers-Hell Masker and Death Gigas preferring to only interact when they had a chance to take over their body and fight, and Chaos was a simple pain in the ass on a minute by minute basis-and often shared his thoughts with Vincent. Unfortunately, helpful or not, since Galian Beast was just that, a beast, the majority of his _thoughts_ were a mix of feelings and instincts that took a moment to translate into more human thought processes. Galian Beast's feelings for this strange wolf seemed to boil down to a belief that the creature was an alpha, but only in command not in physical prowess and a feeling of trust.

That feeling of trust caused Vincent to blink and pay more attention to his 'companions,' Galian Beast felt trust for the creature and was perked up like an attentive puppy, Hellmasker and Death Gigas were calm and silent for once, and Chaos was cackling in the back of Vincent's mind as though he knew something that was going to be unpleasant for Vincent.

Interrogating Chaos was never pleasant for Vincent's remaining sanity, but he was tired of being blindsided, and was just about to attempt to get something other than an annoying riddle out of the immortal being when the sound of little running feet interrupted his introspection.

* * *

Cloud was bored.

When Tseng had woken up two days ago, he and Zack had sent the kids out of the room for almost an hour. Even Sephiroth's best tries at eavesdropping had resulted in no information for the group. When Zack had left almost six hours ago in his weird swirling blue lights, Sephiroth and Genesis had viewed it as a perfect opportunity to question Tseng about what the two 'adults' of their group had discussed previously. Angeal had shaken his head at his brother's antics and allowed a giggling Aerith to drag him off to the small section between two buildings that the two were turning into a garden plot, since Zack had told them they would likely be staying in the Forgotten City for a while the two 'green-thumbs' of the group were taking full advantage.

Cloud had listened to Genesis attempt to coax answers from Tseng while Sephiroth watched his body language for close to thirty minutes before he got bored with the weird round-about. The majority of the conversation went well over Cloud's head, which made sense since he was only four and these last six weeks were some of the first opportunities he had for conversation with anyone besides his mother. That's one reason Cloud liked Sephiroth so much, neither of them had much experience talking or interacting with other people and Sephiroth did not get mad when Cloud inevitably messed something up. Together, they were getting better at being normal human beings with the support of Angeal, Genesis, Aerith, and Tseng who had experience in such things.

So, bored of the conversation that made no sense to him, Cloud collected his stuffed wolf, that he had aptly named Fenrir, and went to play in the area Zack had used parts of the collapsed buildings to turn into a sort of obstacle course for them to play and run around in.

For the past hour, Cloud and Fenrir had sat at the highest point in the obstacle course, Cloud swinging his feet over the edge of the block and telling his stuffed friend about the difference between his new life and his old life. As he was just getting into describing how amazing Zack was, a whirlwind of blue sparks caught his eye. Grinning, Cloud scrambled down from his perch and took off toward the isolated part of the city island that the sparks had come from.

After getting a little turned around, Cloud finally rounded one of the more destroyed buildings toward the edge near the water that Zack had warned them to stay away from, to see Zack in his form as Fenrir. The really tall man wearing the interesting red cloak gave Cloud pause, but he trusted Zack to never bring anyone dangerous to their sanctuary and so felt no distress at launching himself at Zack past the strange man.

Cloud giggled as large, warm hands lifted him easily and cradled him against a strong chest. Secure with Zack's arm wrapped around his back and sharing his warmth, Cloud realized how tired all of his playing earlier had made him; so he wiggled until he was comfortable with one arm trapped between his and Zack's body, cradling Fenrir safely between them, and the other gripping onto Zack's sweater right above his heart and decided this was the perfect place to take a nap.

* * *

Zack did not even try to contain his smirk at the widening of Vincent's eyes when he changed from a wolf into a man and caught Cloud up in his arms. Not quite how he had intended to break the news to the vampiric man, but, he thought with a shrug, it was definitely an amusing way to reveal himself.

While he got Cloud settled securely on his hip, and he was going to have to talk to Tseng about keeping a closer eye on his youngest child, Zack kept one eye on Vincent taking great pleasure in seeing the shock and extreme confusion on the stoic man's face. Not that it was a very evident reaction, only seven years of dealing with and reading Sephiroth's adult body language allowed Zack to see how Cloud's appearance and Zack's transformation had shaken the man.

With Cloud now settled securely on his hip, and rapidly falling asleep if his breathing was any indication, Zack slowly approached Vincent and held out his unclaimed hand, "Hi Vincent. My name is Zack Fair and this little one is Cloud. Sorry about the little disappearing act, but we need your help a little more than the Director at the moment." Zack tried valiantly to not laugh at the suspicious look Vincent sent his hand and the bewildered look he sent the dozing child.

"Look, I'm sure your curious about what is going on and about what Veld told you before we left the mansion," said Zack, letting his hand fall to rest on Cloud's back, "how about we…"

"What do you know about what Veld said before? What does he mean my child was alive?" interrupted Vincent attempting to lock Zack in place with his eyes alone.

Chuckling, again seven years of Sephiroth in almost a perpetual snit meant that look did not do much to Zack, he waved toward the center of the island, "How about we walk and I'll attempt to fill you in." Knowing Vincent would follow, even if he did not particularly want to, Zack set off and launched into the part of the story Vincent would be interested in.

"So, I think it was Hojo told you that Sephiroth and the lady professor died while she was giving birth, right? Well," he steamrolled on not waiting for an answer, "he lied. Or at least he partially lied, not really sure what happened to the lady professor, but Sephiroth didn't die. _Hojo_," the amount of venom in that word made Chaos perk up and pay more attention, "had started experimenting on the boy while he was still in the womb. Once he was born and his mother was out of the way, I figure he told you that both had died to keep you out of the way."

"…and the kidnapping?"

"Ahh, yeah," the sheepish rub of a head, "I guess you could look at it as kidnapping. Though I'm not sure why he thinks it's a group. Oh well, I'm the one who took the kid. Couldn't let him grow up as a lab experiment. So I took him, and a few others." Here he looked down at the child asleep in his arm before looking back at Vincent. "So would you like to meet your son?"

Once again, Zack was treated to the great joy of seeing Vincent's eyes widen in shock before he watched him shut down and attempt to start backing away. Rolling his eyes, Zack turned to look at Vincent full in the face, propping his free hand on his hip and leaning forward a bit to make sure he had all of Vincent's attention.

"Listen, I don't care what you _think_ you need to repent for, but I can tell you one thing. That box is not the way to do it. Sephiroth has been raised as a science experiment, simultaneously less and greater than other human beings. He needs contact with people who will help to negate some of the damage that Hojo has caused. Now, I'm doing a good job of boosting his confidence and the kids are helping him develop healthy, natural connections, but we can only do so much. You, however, are his parent. Anything you say or do will affect him much more than what we do. Without your input, there will always be a portion of Sephiroth, no matter how deeply buried, that will wonder if what we say is true. Now, are you going to man up and take responsibility for your kid or you gonna go back to hiding, hmmm?"

Nodding, Zack straightened up and began walking to the area he had made habitable for his kids. He smirked when he heard metal clad footsteps pick up behind him; sometimes he wondered if honor and responsibility was breed into Wutain people or if they all went through the same type of training for it.

Walking into the courtyard before the house Zack had set up, he had to brace himself as a small force tackled his legs.

"Hello Sephiroth," chuckled Zack, ruffling silver hair. He was going to have to teach him and Aerith how to braid their hair soon if they insisted on keeping it long.

"mmsshkdmgh," came the muffled answer from where Sephiroth's face was mashed into his midsection.

"Wanna try that again where I can understand it?"

"You were gone for a long time and Cloud wandered off. I don't know where he went. I can't find…" here Sephiroth successfully disentangled himself enough from Zack's midsection to look up toward his face without displacing Zack's hand from his head, "oh, you already have him."

"Yes, Cloud found me soon after I got back," Zack turned partially to allow Sephiroth to see behind him, "I also brought someone else to join our little pack. Would you like to meet him?"

The little Zack in his head was rolling on the floor cackling as he watched the man and boy, who looked like someone had take a picture and polarized it, slowly observe and categorize every part of each other. If Sephiroth had retained his father's black hair, than no one would have _ever_ believed that Hojo had any part in Sephiroth's conception, since the two looked way too much like each other.

Long, pale fingers tightened where they were tangled in Zack's sweater, causing him to look down into confused green eyes. Smiling softly, Zack tilted his head toward where Vincent still stood.

"Sephiroth, this is Vincent Valentine. You might not have seen him, but he was in the lab too," here his voice softened and he increased the pressure on Sephiroth's head, hoping to ground him for this part, "He's also your father."

Those fingers tightened even further in Zack's sweater and he pushed himself closer, using Zack as a partial shield to continue observing Vincent.

* * *

Sephiroth was not sure what to think of the man that had come back with Zack, he was even less sure what to think of him when Zack said that the strange man with the red eyes was his father. Sephiroth had never known for sure who his parents were when he was growing up in the lab. Professor Hojo had told him that his mother was someone named Jenova, but he had heard one of the lab techs say once that she was named Lucy. When the topic of father's came up, Professor Hojo would get even more confusing; sometimes he would say that he was Sephiroth's father and other times he would say that Sephiroth had no father.

Now out of the two men, Zack and Professor Hojo, Sephiroth was more inclined to believe Zack than the Professor; so, if Zack said the man was his father than that must surely be who he was. However, believing it and doing something about it were two different things and he was unsure what the protocol for meeting long dead family members was.

A small hand slipped into the one not clutching onto Zack like a lifeline and brought Sephiroth's attention from the red eyed man, Vincent, that's what Zack said his name was, down into trusting blue eyes. Cloud smiled up at who he had deemed his big brother and carefully tugged him away from Zack and toward the other man.

Sephiroth glanced back at Zack a little panicked and took great comfort in the warmth and love he read in Zack's eyes. Cloud's confident grip on his hand also helped allay some of his fears as they approached.

Luminescent green looked up into bright crimson. Sephiroth was not quite sure what the feeling growing in his chest was, but if he had to give it a tentative name, he would call it hope.

* * *

**A.N.-Zeynel-At the moment Zack (and myself) are still learning about the differences between his wolf and human form. I've kinda been operating under the assumption that his forms are partially independent of each other in the physical realm. So injury would transfer through forms but Zack's clothes don't transfer to his wolf form and dirt and grime(a.k.a. monster guts) don't transfer to his human form. HOWEVER, your thought might make for something interesting later on. :)**

**Also before someone complains about the fact I call the Forgotten City the Forgotten City and not the Forgotten Capital, it's because the translators keep switching how they translate it and City stuck in my head. Ugh.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Monsters Make the Best Pack**

**Chapter Eight: We're all Mad Here**

Vincent stood in the shadows of a collapsed building and watched as the auburn haired child, with a temper to match his flaming locks, carefully carried the skittish blond child on ebony wing up to the balcony where the raven haired child sat helping his son in grooming the two white wings sprouting from the raven's back. Sephiroth's own black wing, a more matte black than the other's wing that shimmered with blues, greens, and purples, had already been preened and was folded primly on his back.

* * *

The wings had come as a bit of a shock when Vincent had learned about them. The boys were playing on the multi-tiered obstacle course that Zack had created for them. The little blond, named Cloud, had been sitting at the highest point of the course cuddling his ever present wolf plush. Sephiroth and the red head, Genesis, were at the beginning of the course, Genesis ribbing Sephiroth good naturedly about beating him in a race. Everything had been going good, the raven haired one, Angeal, giving them the signal to start and both boys had set off, scrambling over, around, and under the obstacles. Sephiroth had just reached the point where Cloud was sitting when he slipped and fell off the block, plummeting toward the ground a good eight feet down. Vincent had rushed forward to catch him when black feathers had burst into the air and Sephiroth had glided to the ground on an outstretched wing. More black feathers flew in the air as Genesis also sprouted a black wing and scooped Cloud up before carefully landing next to a semi-pouting Sephiroth who was being fussed over by an anxious Angeal.

Zack and the Wutain youth, Tseng, had approached then the little brunette girl, Aerith trailing along at Tseng's side. Zack had lead Vincent off while Tseng and Aerith had moved past to check over the kids. For the rest of the afternoon Zack had explained and answered Vincent's questions about what had happened to Sephiroth before Zack had taken him.

Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis each possessed a wing that extended from one shoulder, left for Sephiroth and Genesis and right for Angeal, which came about because of the Jenova cells incorporated in their DNA. Sephiroth's wing was smaller and still developing compared to the older boys and his fledgling feathers were a matte black still swathed in baby down. Genesis' black wing was closer to a raven's in color, the sunlight bringing out highlights of blue, green, and purple in his feathers and stretched a good six feet in length. Angeal's wing was opposite the other two's in every way, white instead of black, right instead of left, and he had a smaller secondary wing underneath the larger primary wing that was almost seven feet in length.

Zack explained that the wings were a new addition for all three boys and that they were still adjusting to using them. Angeal and Genesis were able to fly short distances now and Sephiroth was successful at gliding short distances but without flight feathers he was not getting very far. He was laughing as he recalled several incidences of running into trees and not so spectacular landings as the boys adjusted to their extra appendages.

The light hearted mood had quickly fled however when Zack explained that, in a different timeline, the arrival of Genesis and then Angeals' wings had been the spark that lead to Zack's arrival back at Nibelheim. In the previous timeline, Zack and Genesis had fought in the hidden shrine of the Goddess and Genesis had come out healed of his degradation. This time around, Zack had taken Genesis and Angeal down to the shrine so that the Goddess could remove the impurities from the two oldest boy's DNA before they had left Banora.

What he had not expected was for the purifying light to envelop all five children and the three oldest boys to sprout the wings that would have come later in life. Zack was still unsure what the light had done to Aerith and Cloud, but he assumed it would be something the Goddess felt they needed.

"But," he said, smiling as he watched Tseng teaching the kids how to somersault, "whatever was done, we'll get through anything that comes because we have each other. After all, who better to understand 'monsters' than other monsters."

* * *

Zack's parting comment was still bouncing around in Vincent's head several days later as he watched the laughing children, unashamedly showcasing the very thing that would alienate them anywhere but here.

Each day Vincent was able to watch as Zack spent time with the children, individually and collectively, exhibiting a level of intelligence and psychological awareness that was hidden behind his mask of a hyper-active fool as he systematically sought out and uprooted issues within each child. Even more surprising was the fact that Vincent could _see_ the results that Zack's care and affection was having on each child and the teenager in his charge.

Tseng was becoming more open, less cold, with each day that passed. No longer fighting his Wutain heritage as something shameful, he was teaching the younger ones at night how to speak Wutain and carefully beginning their instruction in hand-to-hand combat, a specialty of the Wutain ninjas.

Zack's earnest praise for Genesis' ability with materia saw a boost in his self-confidence and a lowering in his searching for acceptance through showy means. His role as the unofficial 'big brother' of the group had resulted in a decrease of his arrogance and a better control of his temper. He was still an arrogant little twerp with enough confidence for a man twice his age, but he was starting to allow his gentler side to show.

Angeal's issues were more subtle, but as each day passed he became more comfortable with his wing and the removal of the 'normal' moniker from his psyche. Allowing Sephiroth and the others to help in the taking care of his wing was a major step for Angeal.

Sephiroth was slowly losing the robotic personality that came from growing up in the lab as an experiment. He was beginning to develop his own personality and had even sought Vincent out on a couple of occasions to ask questions about Vincent and his life growing up.

Aerith was the same bubble of sunshine that she had been always been, but her confidence was growing day by day. She was beginning to lose the fear that came with her 'sixth sense' and could often be found in the sacred temple space studying and learning.

Cloud was less skittish than he had been previously. He could often be found curled up with Zack, following Sephiroth around, or listening to Genesis read his book and would now ask for this contact.

None of the children were whole, none of them 'normal,' but here, with Zack raising them, they were coming out of their shells and becoming who they were meant to be, no longer attempting to live up to expectations or hide what they were to conform to polite society. They were allowed to be themselves with no judgment.

"After all, who better to understand monsters than fellow monsters, indeed," mused Vincent, heading off to find Zack.

* * *

Vincent found Tseng before he located Zack. Vincent had been surprised by the inclusion of the young Turk in Zack's 'merry band of misfits,' Zack's phrasing, but Zack insisted that the teenager's knowledge and abilities were necessary. Since Vincent's arrival, he had noticed that out of the two 'adults,' Tseng was the calming personality, more prone to rational thinking and fore planning, while Zack tended to run on instinct and luck. He also served as a good body guard for the children, capable in both hand-to-hand combat and his preferred 9-millimeter hand gun.

"Where is Zack?" asked Vincent, startling Tseng if the poorly concealed flinch was any indication.

"He's that way somewhere. I would suggest looking up first." A quick flick of oil smeared fingers over his shoulder the only indication Tseng was talking to Vincent and not his gun.

Vincent shrugged and wandered down the pathway Tseng had indicated carefully observing the rooftops for any indication that Zack was up there. He had noticed Zack's proclivity for resting in high places where he could see the sky. He had never asked for an explanation, but he had worked with the Turks enough to recognize a form of PTSD when he saw it.

Finally he caught sight of a black combat boot attached to a black clad leg dangling off the edge of a building. With a quick enhanced jump, Vincent landed on the rooftop and settled down beside a reclined Zack.

They sat in silence for several minutes, enjoying the slightly cool breeze heralding the arrival fall and the distant sound of children laughing, when Vincent's deep timber broke the silence.

"Chaos will talk to you now."

* * *

Next to a crystal clear pond in a clearing ringed by white leafless trees, Zack watched as Vincent's red cape transformed into giant red leather wings, golden gauntlet became black and lethal claws, and horns sprouted up and back from his forehead.

Wings settled with a whisper against his back as an evil smirk spread across his face, '_what is it you wished to talk to me about, Guardian?'_

"Jenova."

'_The Calamity from the Sky,' _hissed the demon, '_You have already purified the taint from the Offspring, what more do you want with that abomination?'_

"She has to be dealt with for the problem to completely go away. The crystallization worked as a stop gap solution, but now we need to actually destroy her."

'_Hmmm, and what do you need my help for? You have not called forth the WEAPONS nor have you begun the summoning of Omega, so what use am I for you?'_

A wry scoff, "I need you to find the bitch wherever Hojo has hidden her. None of my searching has located her. Can't very well destroy her if I can't find her."

'_My host and I will locate her Guardian, but when we do,' _a smile full of teeth, _'the _good professor_ is ours.' _

"Deal."

* * *

**A.N.- before someone says it's out of character for Sephiroth to slip, remember he's eight and he grew up in a lab. Running, jumping, and just generally playing in an uncontrolled environment is still a novel thing for him. Plus I've had some pretty athletic kids completely bite the dust being overconfident idiots. **


	10. Chapter 9

**Monsters Make the Best Pack**

**Chapter Nine: Finally Getting Somewhere**

**Reading Key- (Vincent is a pain) **'_speaking'_-single quote + italics= Chaos

'speaking'- single quote + no italics=Vincent thinking

_**Feeling**_-instincts/impressions from Galian Beast

**Warning-more cursing in this chapter, and it's not all Zack's fault.**

Silent wings carefully guided their host down to the highest building illuminated in monstrosity of metal and smog that called itself a city, the division of the eight sectors marked by the lighted reactor at each point.

Chaos felt his lip curl into an even greater snarl than usual, _'These humans have no idea what they are doing. Even the ones that have a partial clue still do not realize the foolishness of their actions. Although,' _a wicked smile more teeth than mirth, _'the _Champion_ that has been chosen promises to make the dealings with these heretical dealings.'_

The guards on duty on the Plate's surface would return to the barracks early that morning with tales of demons and haunting as a dark laugh swirled through the still night air.

* * *

Veld _really_ needed to get out of his office more often, or one day his men were going to come in and find him murdered at the hands of his own desk.

Upon their return from Nibelheim and the discovery that Vincent was still alive, Veld has stupidly confronted Professor Hojo about what he had discovered in the basement of the Shinra Mansion. The _good professor_ and his sycophant, Hollander, had been lucky to walk away from that conversation with only the holes they were born with as Veld was forced to listen to Hojo's justification for what had been done. Veld losing his temper and shouting at the oily bastard had drawn the attention of Professor Gast and Ilfana causing the conversation to devolve into an argument about the ethics of human experimentation between the two professors-Hollander did not count as his own entity he was so far up Hojo's ass-and not the semi-rational discussion of not kidnapping Veld's Turks that he had originally been aiming to have.

Ilfana had gained his eternal respect when she had slapped Hojo after one particularly disparaging remark. Unfortunately, the slap had prompted President Shinra, who Veld was ashamed to admit he had not seen come up to the group, to throw his two gil into the conversation, on Hojo's side of course, completely ignoring the fact that Hojo had kept a Turk prisoner for years as a science experiment and lied about Sephiroth's parentage. Instead, he had proceeded to accuse the Turks, in general, and Veld in particular, of conspiring with the kidnappers, for whom else could it be, and allowing the escape of '_a valuable resource to the continuation of research in the combination of materia and organic material.'_

_That_ accusation, and an insight into how Hojo did not view Vincent as a human being, had Veld seeing red and having to run through every calming technique he had ever learned in order to prevent himself from shooting the smug bastard right there on the executive floor of the building. By the time Veld could once again open his mouth without either spewing obscenities or pulling his gun, the conversation had moved on to the topic of the man who had taken Vincent in that bizarre swirl of green light.

Veld had left that conversation with orders from the President to locate the man, Vincent, and the children; but not to hurt the man as Hojo wanted to discover how he was capable of moving about as he did. The only good part of that conversation and the change in orders was the withering look Hojo had pinned on Hollander the one time the word 'teleportation' had passed his lips.

Now however, Veld was back in his office, still at square one in his investigation, and with even fewer leads to help him even _attempt_ to complete the ever increasing demands the President was saddling him with. Death by desk was looking more appealing if only because he knew _how_ to accomplish that.

Veld had his weapon drawn and aimed before the _screech_ of metal against glass had fully registered in his brain; the barely concealed amusement in crimson eyes prevented him from pulling the trigger.

* * *

Vincent could not contain the amused smirk that touched his lips as he stood in the ever darkening shadows of Veld's office. He had not been surprised when Tseng had informed him that Veld had become Director of the Turks after the 'retirement' of the former head. Veld had always been a good Turk with a calm head on his shoulders and the ability to regulate work to those best suited for the job. He also had never balked at making difficult decisions.

No, what amused the undead Turk was how easily he could still read his old partner, and at the moment he bore the same look he had possessed before conveniently forgetting to load the luggage of a particularly mouthy executive's wife on the helicopter. That look always preceded some of Veld's less thought through plans.

That smirk only grew as he very carefully, and very forcefully, laid his metal gauntlet against the window and slowly dragged it down, causing a painful _screech_ to fill the small office. After all, there was a reason the two had made such a good Turk team, and if people forgot Vincent's mischievous side in the face of Veld's bolder actions, well, that was on them.

While the reaction time was not as great as Vincent's own supernatural reflexes, he was pleased to note that sitting behind a desk had not decreased his partner's abilities. The concern had hovered in the back of his brain that being in charge might have made Veld an ineffective companion in this hunt.

"I believe," drawled Vincent in his rumbling baritone, "that it's time we talked."

* * *

No amount of Turk training could have helped Veld in keeping the shock and horror off of his face as he listened to Vincent's monotonous retelling of all that had happened in the last nine years. The story of love and betrayal, corrupted revival, lies and experiments perpetrated by enemy and lover alike, and finally, the perceived selfless act of allowing himself to be locked away in the hopes of 'forgiveness' for a nonexistent crime. If Veld had not already been starting to supremely dislike Hojo before, this story alone would have swayed his opinion.

Vincent had not stopped there. He had continued his telling by describing the events of an archeological dig in the Northern Crater and how three scientists had disagreed on how to utilize the 'Ancient' they had found. How one had injected dead cells into a babe in the womb and how another child had been born a year later, containing the same cells. The next had begun injecting the cells into woman before she became pregnant, as well as into the child once it was conceived. The last had not actually used the cells for conceiving a 'key,' but had discovered a living example of what they had previously assumed extinct.

Finally he had told of the Calamity from the Sky and her vassal, of fire from the sky and the slow, creeping death of the Planet from within, and a desperate bid for one last chance of saving them all.

By the end of his retelling, Veld was more than ready to leave Shinra for good, but Vincent quickly dissuaded that idea.

"You are of more help here in the center of everything than you would be with us. You have more access to information here than we do. Are you willing to help us?"

Veld tipped his chair back and looked at the ceiling, knowing that Vincent was not fooled for a moment, "Of course I'll help."

* * *

_**Hunt?**_

'_Humph, not a true hunt. A hunt of words and paper, not of the chase and adrenaline.'_

_**Hunt!**_

'_Grrrrr, shut up you insufferable mutt.'_

Veld glanced at Vincent from where he was bent over his keyboard, pulling up all records of supply requests and personel moements in regard to Hojo, when the crimson eyed man could not contain the huff of amusement he released at Galian Beast annoying Chaos.

Vincent shook his head and moved to where he could look over Veld's shoulder without craning hi neck, "It was suggested that we begin our search at the labs where Hojo has not recently assigned new people, but that he has a steady stream of supplies leaving the lab."

"Well," mused Veld, the rapid click of keys almost covering his voice, "Hojo's name is connected to the lab at Nibelheim, Hollander's lab at Banora, one at the Northern Crater, one at Gongaga, and the one here in the lower levels of the tower. Now of those labs, Hollander is listed as the lead scientist at Banora-and has apparently been making subtle bids to have it completely under his name, the one at Gongaga is lead by a scientist named Fuhito, the one at the Northern Crater shows absolutely no activity since Gast and Hojo split ideals, and that only leaves the ones in Nibelheim and here at the Tower. Of those two, the records indicate that Hojo spends the majority of his time in Nibelheim and has a steady stream of supplies shipped there from his lab here."

Veld spun his chair to look up at Vincent, "You were sneaky enough to get in here, which I'm still not sure how you managed without my noticing, think you're sneaky enough to get down forty-nine stories and into a lab without getting seen."

Vincent was proud of Veld when he simply returned the smile tainted by Chaos and Galian Beast's desire for the hunt.

* * *

'_Maybe all of you humans are not completely useless after all,' _mused Chaos from the shadows where he was watching Veld calmly work his way across the lobby to the door that lead down to the lab complexes. He stopped to talk to the receptionist and almost ambled across the rest of the lobby. Swiping his keycard, he allowed the door to stay open a moment longer than usual, not even blinking at the blur of red that sped across the lobby floor and materialized into Vincent once the door swung closed.

"Thought your skills might have gotten rusty after so long without using them, guess, I shouldn't have doubted you."

Vincent did not deign to answer that dig, knowing that _his_ skills certainly were a little rusty, Chaos' however were not. The bright lights and white tiled halls were setting his teeth on edge for the lack of shadows to hide in. Veld was calm beside him, covering his back as they slowly traveled down the too bright space. The antiseptic scent and faint lingering of blood underneath was stirring Death Gigas and Hellmasker; their anxiety in turn hyping Galian Beast into a frenzy. For once Chaos was being the least problematic of Vincent's extras, too distracted sending out tendrils of power to each of the rooms they passed in order to catalogue what was in them.

'_There is a faint echo of something here, not sure if it is _her_ or not, but we will still need to check it out.'_

Two lefts, a right, and another left brought them to the hallway where Chaos had sensed a trace of otherworldly power.

'Zack was right, this place was designed like a warren, whoever did this was crazy,' mused Vincent.

'_This is the place,' _hissed Chaos outside a white door exactly the same as ever other white door on the hallway.

Vincent watched the hallway while Veld picked the lock-a two handed job made difficult by Vincent's gold gauntlet. The door popped open with a quiet click and Vincent had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at Veld's smug grin, pushing past him to enter the room first.

Only immense amounts of practice kept Vincent from screaming as his head exploded in pain and he dimly registered his body hitting the floor.

* * *

**LITTLE HERALD, YOU ARE NOT SO STRONG AS YOU BELIEVE. YOUR THOUGHTS HAVE BEEN OPEN TO ME SINCE YOU FIRST ENTERED MY DOMAIN. YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE MY CHILD AND DRESTROY ME. BELIEVE ME, I SHALL DESTROY YOU WELL BEFORE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE.**

'_Hmmm, you yell a good fight, but you are not exactly in a position to carry out such threats.'_

**YOU DARE…**

'_Yes, I dare _Calamity_. You are trapped in that decaying body, while _I_ am free and possessing of a capable host. Good luck carrying out your threats.'_

_**Enemy, hurt Alpha, after pups, attack, drive away.**_

**Page Break**

Jenova's final screech was still ringing in Vincent's ears as he slowly pulled himself from his own mind and back to the office/lab where Veld crouched over his prone form, gun drawn and pointed at the corner of the room. Vincent groaned and propped himself up on his elbows, turning to see what had Veld so on edge.

In the corner of the room, a giant specimen tank stood, softly glowing with an inner light as pure mako was pumped into the glass container. In the viscous fluid floated the deformed remains of the crystallized ancient being that Hojo and President Shinra believed to be a Centra. Even without Chaos' influence, Vincent wondered how they could believe that the creature floating in that pod could possibly have been a Centra.

The Centra were said to be perfect beings, an extension of the Planet and powerful in the ways of magic and materia. While the outline of this creature looked vaguely human, the body was blue and gray and was surrounded by fleshy red 'arteries' connecting to a 'heart' taking the place of the body's feet. The back of the creature held the remains of wings, not feathered like the boys or leather like Chaos' instead looking similar to red slabs of flesh with spiraling grooves and patterns cut into them.

If the physical description was not enough to cause one to question if it was a Centra, then anyone having ability with materia would be able to sense the dark, corrupt miasma that shrouded the being from his senses.

Vincent recoiled from the darkness attempting to worm its way into his mind, fully in agreement with the growls reverberating in his skull from both Chaos and Galian Beast and the hisses of rage from Death Gigas and Hellmasker. Veld steadied him as he climbed gingerly to his feet, six feet was a great distance to fall and hit his head from.

Vincent and Veld both glanced over their shoulders at the shut door as quick, heavy footsteps rapidly approached.

'_We are done here. There is nothing else we can achieve.'_

For once, Vincent was more than willing to pass the reigns of control over to Chaos. He launched a fireball at the tank and snatched up a shocked Veld, diving out the opening door with all the speed he could manage.

The high pitched screeching that he left behind was almost as satisfying as the sound of breaking glass.

* * *

**A.N.- This chapter did not want to be written, finally I figured out that Veld did not want to confront Vincent as much as Vincent wanted to confront him. Also Veld was not supposed to be as big a part of this story as he had become. This was mainly supposed to center around Zack and Vincent, but ehh…whatever. Veld might even finally catch a break next chapter, instead of me continuing to torture the poor man. But the good news is I have planned out the rest of this story and the sequel. Only two to three more chapters and this cycle will be finished. **


	11. Interlude

**Monsters Make the Best Pack**

**Interlude: Thoughts of a Fledgling **

Sephiroth perched on the balcony that he and the other boys had claimed as their 'roost,' something Zack said they needed in order to help them feel safe as their new instincts settled. He had even made a special trip out of their hideout to provide them with extra pillows and blankets to use for nesting. Currently, Sephiroth was alone in the roost, methodically creasing and un-creasing one of the blankets as he contemplated everything that had so recently changed in his life.

He had been sitting in his room-Genesis had called it a cell when he learned where Sephiroth had grown up, but he was not sure if he believed that, yet- when the quiet click of claws on tile distracted him from the book on tactics he was studying. While the sound was not a regular occurrence in the lab, it was not unheard of for one of the Professor's test subjects to escape and wander the hall for a time before being subdued. Therefore he was less startled when he heard a 'whuff' outside his door and more surprised when the lock clicked and the door slowly swung open.

The rest of that day had continued with one shock after another-the wolf at his door changing into a wildly grinning man, being outside the Mansion for the first time that he could remember, finding his little brother, and Zack blowing up a mountain. The next few weeks had seen Sephiroth's world expand even more, seeing new places and gaining three older brothers and a sister-who all came from different lifestyles and cultures. Things that Sephiroth had never experienced in person before were suddenly all around him, all the things he had only read about in books before, he was now able to experience. The sights and sounds were nice, but learning how to interact with the others often saw him making many mistakes that the Professor would have punished him strongly for had he still been in the lab. Luckily, Genesis had seemed to take it as a personal offense that he, and Cloud, had no interpersonal skills and made it his mission to teach them. Even luckier, Aerith and Angeal also took up the cause and made Genesis' lessons comprehendible.

When he had believed that he had finally settled into a rhythm of adapting to all the new things going on in his life, Zack had returned from one of his jaunts with a man that claimed to be his father. If Cloud had not been holding his hand through that entire conversation, Sephiroth was not sure if he would have stuck around to listen. Things were changing so rapidly that Sephiroth often wondered if Shinra's R&D department had created a type of Anti-Gravity Materia and sent him spiraling off into space.

Today was the first time that Sephiroth had been left alone long enough to truly think over what he had learned from both Zack and Vincent about his parentage, and everything else that had changed in his life. Which is why he was currently curled up in the back corner of their roost, mangling a blanket and avoiding Genesis, who had apparently made it his mission since the arrival of Vincent to not leave Sephiroth alone for a single moment.

During one of the few talks they had managed to have before Vincent had left on a mission for Zack, he had discussed the circumstances of Sephiroth's conception with the silverette. The man did not go into detail, after all Sephiroth was only eleven years old, but he did talk about afternoons spent in the sun under a large tree, laughing and talking about anything and everything. He spoke even more haltingly about a terrible evening of yelling, accusations, blame and the some of the tragedy that followed. Sephiroth could tell that Vincent was holding large portions of _that _story back, but Sephiroth had lived all eleven of his years in the Professor's care, he could guess some of what Vincent was holding back.

Zack had already explained Jenova to the three oldest boys and how Hojo and Hollander had implanted her cells in them, hoping to recreate the false 'Ancient.' But Vincent's stories, no matter how vague they were, went a long way to scabbing over a wound buried deep in Sephiroth's conscious that he had not been aware had even existed. Vincent's information laid to rest the slithering fear that had grown in the back of Sephiroth's mind ever since Hojo had told him that his mother's name was Jenova and Zack explained what had been done to him and the others.

Unlike Vincent, Zack had not sugar-coated the truth of the experiments done to them or why the Shinra Power Company would be searching very diligently for their group. At the time, Sephiroth- and Genesis and Angeal-had appreciated the candor, but once he had been alone again the doubts had started to slip in that even here amongst 'monsters' of human creation, he was still the outsider-the greatest monster with no humanity to fall back on. Genesis had attempted in his brusque way to reassure Sephiroth without ever acknowledging the issue. Angeal and Aerith had included him in their gardening and quiet conversation. Tseng had begun teaching each them hand-to-hand combat, but he also pulled Sephiroth aside in the afternoons to begin teaching him how to wield the practice katana he had obtained in Wutai. Cloud had started daily cuddle sessions in the evenings, explaining to Sephiroth everything that he and Fenrir had done that day. And when it all got to be too much, when being around even the quiet Cloud or the calm Aerith wore on Sephiroth's nerves and made his instincts jangle in mixed signals of fear and safety; Zack would pull him to a secluded spot on the shore and simply sit in quiet solitude with him.

Even with all that support though, even with the friendship, and possibly even family that they were becoming, Sephiroth still had his moments of doubt that all the reassurance in the world could not destroy or relieve. Learning that he had a human mother, _and_ a human father-even if he was no longer completely human-soothed those fears so quickly that Sephiroth was left anxious about the lack of anxiety. Finally, he was the same as all the others, he might have more Jenova cells in his body and he might have less social awareness than the others, but he had what they had-human parents. He was different but still the same. A human, even if the world would label him a monster, he now _knew_ that he was human and he would hold on to that information with all the strength in his young body.

Slim fingers wrapped around his hand, stilling the fingers that had begun unraveling the blanket without him noticing. Acid green eyes met more natural verdant green and Sephiroth found himself slowly returning the smile he was being given.

"There you are silly. You finally know who you are, don't you."

Sephiroth chuckled and dropped the blanket to clutch the hand with his own. He knew it was not a true question, but he decided to answer it anyway, "Yes, I know who I am now. I'm me-monster and human together."

Aerith giggled and leaned against Sephiroth's side, cuddling his arm in the same way Cloud cuddled his stuffed wolf, "Good thing there are other 'monsters' here then huh."

Together, they sat in silence, watching the light fade in the forest casting the reaching shadows over the faintly glowing buildings. Their moment of peace was broken by a thundering crash and loud swearing.

* * *

**A.N.-Sorry it took so long to post anything new, and I know this isn't a new chapter, but this close to the end I want to make sure it's good and not disappointing. Last week my brain was on the complete and total fritz and I'm not even sure I could have typed my own name without messing it up. But I think I am finally back in the rhythm and hopefully will have the real next chapter out by next week…hopefully. ANY WAYS, I will answer any lovely reviews in the real chapter and know that I really like seeing all the followers and reviews for this story. On a more exciting note, I got my pre-order of Final Fantasy VII Remake and o.m.g. I loved it and beat it in just over 30 hours and will be replaying it very soon.**


	12. Chapter 10

**Monsters Make the Best Pack**

**Chapter Ten: Schemes and Discussions**

Veld cursed, strong and harsh, as his knees impacted with the cold hard stone. Strangely glowing, cold hard stone that he _knew_ existed nowhere in Midgar or the surrounding vicinity. Turk training kicked in and he carefully scanned the surroundings, his new surroundings. New as in he had _never_ seen anything like this dilapidated ruin of a village that was radiating an eerie pale light from every stone and branch of the surrounding dead trees.

Cursing again, Veld allowed his forehead to connect with the ground as he caught a glimpse of golden spiked boots and the edge of a ragged cloak out of the corner of his eye, "I think you left out some information when you were telling me about what Hojo had done to you. Hmmm." Veld pushed himself slowly to his feet, wincing at the pain in his knees. Forty might not have technically been old, but his body certainly protested that thought with how many aches and pains it held.

"I was unaware that it was possible for us to move like that, much less carry another body with us." Veld had to laugh at the sheepishness he could read in Vincent's body language that he was attempting to cover with indifference.

He smirked as the lines of tension disappeared from Vincent's shoulders and the younger rolled his eyes in exasperation. Vincent should know better than anyone that the Turks are full of people with quirks that made them 'unsuitable' for 'normal' society. Vincent might be a little more strange than the average Turk, but Veld was used to rolling with the punches of insanity in his work force.

'Okay, maybe _a lot_ more strange than my normal recruits,' thought Veld when he heard a rumbling growl begin to emanate from the vampiric Turk, only the barely perceptible smile on his lips prevented Veld from backing away into a defensible position. Vincent had warned him about the unpredictability of some of residents' personalities, and after that disorienting ride, he was not in the mood for testing his abilities against whatever might be lurking behind that sound.

He apparently did not need to worry however as Vincent simply shook his head and turned to look up at the partially intact roof of the building behind them, "You are going to need to practice your landings if you plan on sneaking up behind anyone with enhanced hearing. It does you no good to be stealthy on the approach if they hear you arrive."

Everything was so quiet, not even bird song or insect noises to add ambience that Veld was beginning to question if his friend really had come back sane, when a fiery redhead popped up from behind the lip of the roof.

"What is _he _doing here," growled the scowling child. If looks could set one on fire, then Veld was certain this one would have achieved it with how hard he was glaring at the Turk. The venom in that young voice was confusing to Veld until the fiery hair and clear blue eyes connected with a flinch in his mind. This was Genesis, one of the children that he had been tasked to locate and return to what he now knew to be life of experimentation, so that he could be exploited by the company that had 'manufactured' him and the others similar to him. He cringed even harder when he remembered that Genesis and the other children had to have been present and seen when they took Tseng into custody. He only hoped that whoever had taken the children and then rescued Tseng had possessed common sense enough not to allow the young ones to see the damage wrought by an insane Hojo.

That hope was dashed a moment later as the child jumped from the roof-giving Veld a mini heart attack in the process- and pointed an accusatory finger at the pair, "That's the man that took Tseng away in Wutai. He was just trying to protect us and do the right thing and _that man_ took him away to be tortured and hurt."

Vincent calmly met raging blue with calm crimson, "Veld is a good man and we need his help if we are to accomplish what needs to be done to protect everyone."

Small shoulders straightened to fill a slightly too large red leather jacket and black turtle-neck as the glare intensified. Veld felt his apprehension grow as literal _sparks_ began to fly from tightly clenched fists that shook with rage.

"Vincent is right." Veld spun at the sound of the deep, and oddly cheerful, voice coming from directly behind him. He had to resist the urge to rub his eyes as he contemplated if he really was getting too old to do this job anymore if this man had managed to sneak up on him.

It was the same man that had taken Vincent from the makeshift crypt under the Shinra Mansion-the gelled back spikes of long raven hair a dead giveaway. But seeing him now standing fully before him and not hidden behind another person, Veld had to wonder at just what he had agreed to help his partner do.

The man stood at well over six feet in height, previously mentioned black hair extending in spikes to his shoulders and down his back. His eyes were an odd mix of blue and violet and shone similar to the new troops at Shinra that were being labeled SOLDIERs. A crossed set of scars marred tanned skin on his left cheek. He was dressed in a black turtleneck, black leather gloves, dark cargo pants, and black combat boots. He wore no armor, but Veld did not doubt this man was a fighter. His body language radiated confidence and power.

On his left hip perched the same blond haired child that Veld had seen previously with Tseng in Wutai. Now he was close enough to tell that it was a young boy, only about three based on his small size, with wild yellow spikes reminiscent of the man holding him. He was wearing a pale blue t-shirt and blue jeans with a dark grey stuffed wolf clutched close to his chest as he peered warily at Veld with bright blue eyes.

Standing at the man's side, angled to be partially hidden behind his leg and with one hand gripping the man's shirt underneath the blond, was a taller boy with shoulder length silver hair. Sephiroth, for he fit the physical description given to Veld and his men upon his disappearance, was dressed similar to Genesis with dark pants and a black turtleneck, minus the leather jacket, and showed how pale the child was. Veld was unsure if the paleness was a byproduct of what had been done to the child or if it was simply a result of the boy never having been in the sun before the last two months happened. If the corpse-like paleness was not disconcerting enough, then the glowing acid green eyes watching with mistrust and curiosity would be enough, no eyes should glow like that.

Standing at the man's other side, watching everything with thankfully non-glowing green eyes and a bright smile, was who Veld assumed was the missing Aerith, since she was the only girl who had gone missing and other than the blond the other children had fit the descriptions that had been supplied. Unlike the wary boys, Aerith was rocking back and forth on her feet causing her yellow dress to swing back and forth over dark leggings and small chocobo girl boots, hands clasped in front of her. Her curled brown ponytail held up by a pink ribbon, whipped back and forth as she constantly swiveled her head between looking up at the man and then back to Veld.

A growled "what" drew his attention back to the first child, who he realized had been joined by another child with spiked raven hair, similarly piercing blue eyes, and dressed in dark pants and a darker blue t-shirt covered in dirt stains; and his missing teenage Turk. Veld's heart clenched as he looked upon the young man who had angled himself to be between Veld and the younger boys, wary dark eyes watching Veld's every movement. His dark hair was pulled back from his face in a low tail. He was wearing a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and dark jeans. Even with how wary the teenager was of Veld, here out of his suit and hovering protectively in front of two youngsters who were attempting to get protectively in front him, was the most relaxed Veld had ever seen him.

"Vincent is right," repeated the man as he and his entourage moved to join the group in front of Veld and lay a large hand in flaming locks. He ruffled the tresses, causing the boy to screech and pull away quickly, attempting to straighten out the mussed hair. Veld had to duck his head to prevent the small spit-fire from seeing his laughter, he was fairly sure that laughing at the boy would not endear him in any way, shape, or form.

The man simply laughed at the hissed death threats and held out a hand to Veld, "You already know Tseng, and I'm sure you've been informed about the others, but just to clear up any confusion. The angry redhead currently hissing like a cat is Genesis. The calm one over here is Angeal. Little miss is Aerith and I'm sure you can guess that the polarized copy over here is Sephiroth. Last, but not least, is this little one Cloud." The man pointed to each child as he introduced them, ignoring the glare he received from Genesis, the faint blushes from the two older boys, and the beaming smiles from Aerith and Cloud.

Veld noticed that the man did not introduce himself, but he ignored it for the moment to turn and look at his former Turk. Even without speaking to the young man, Veld knew that he was a _former_ Turk and would not return. He had finally found something worth protecting and had no intention of giving that up, and Veld could definitely respect that motivation.

"I know this does not make what happened any better, but if I could have prevented you going to Hojo for interrogation then I would have." Veld growled and glanced quickly at Vincent, "And if I had known what exactly the man was capable of doing, then you would have never even made it to the Shinra Tower."

Veld watched as Tseng processed his apology before giving a sharp nod to his former boss and turning to the man, holding out his arms for the blond, "Come along, it's time for your afternoon katas. Vincent and Zack," finally a name to go with the face, "need to plan with Veld."

Tseng secured the blond on his own hip and used a hand between his shoulder blades to propel Genesis from the courtyard, Aerith and Angeal following like ducklings happily chatting together about something. The only one not to move was Sephiroth, who was staring intently up at Zack, as if attempting to mentally read something from the other. Finally he gave a quick nod and ran to give Vincent a quick hug around the waist before rushing after the others who had already disappeared.

Veld could not contain his laughter at Vincent's shocked expression. The sound drifted over the ruins, brightening the glow ever so slightly.

* * *

Genesis stared moodily into the fire-no Angeal, he was _not_ pouting- as he thought about the man that had shown up with Vincent early that day. Tseng had kept them busy with katas, weapons practice, and a reading lesson in Wutanese, but now he had been called by Zack to join the "secret" meeting that the adults were holding and Genesis was free to brood.

Angeal and Aerith were too naive, Cloud too innocent and young, and Sephiroth too trusting of Zack's _wisdom_ to see the danger that having _that_ man could mean to their group. Everyone seemed to forget that he was the one that had taken Tseng away from them and how badly he had been hurt when Zack returned him. Vincent may trust the man, and Tseng may have said that he understood and forgave him; but Genesis was not going to make that mistake. That man, Veld, had already hurt one of their pack, what was to say he would not do it again by returning them to those _people_. No, Genesis was the oldest and it was his job to look after the others and protect them. Angeal had always done the same for him growing up and now with all the others there, it was Genesis' responsibility to protect and look after his little siblings. He would have to keep a close eye on Cloud and Sephiroth, they did not have the same level of exposure to people that he, Angeal, and Aerith had had and any sort of betrayal could damage the progress they had been making with the two.

Now watching Aerith and Angeal sitting together, heads bent over a picture book of plants that Zack had gotten them, and Sephiroth sitting with Cloud in his lap, listening to their youngest tell about his day; Genesis knew what he had to do. Determined, he stood and quickly strode off to the pool that Zack liked to sit beside in the evenings.

When he arrived Zack was nowhere to be found, but Genesis knew that the other came out here every evening and he doubted that this evening would be any different. Patience was not Genesis' strong suit, but he was determined to look after his family, no matter the cost. So he sat himself down at the edge of the pond and settled in to wait.

Genesis was unsure when he fell asleep, but the next thing that he was aware of was being picked up by strong arms and being carried through the dark streets. He gripped the dark shirt of the one carrying him and tried to tell the other of his worries, but he was not sure if his tired brain managed to mumble out the correct thing. He was carefully lowered onto his pallet and covered with the bright red coverlet that he had claimed as his own.

He was drifting back off into deeper sleep when a calloused hand brushed his bangs back and a quick kiss was laid on his brow.

"I will look after all of you, trust in that." was the last thing he heard before sleep once again claimed him.

* * *

Zack took a moment to look over his sleeping children: Genesis clutching his red covers up by his chin; Angeal sprawled out beside him, covers kicked down my his feet; Aerith curled up in the corner of the room, sheer curtains draped around her area since she was unwilling to be completely separated from the boys; Sephiroth and Cloud curled up under the same black and blue blanket, Sephiroth's arm draped over the curled up blond. They might not have been his flesh and blood, but these five, and Tseng, were his kids and he would tear Gaia to pieces if that was what it took to keep them safe. Luckily for him, the Planet seemed just as interested in keeping them safe as he himself was, so he should never have to follow through with that. Which is good since his original objective was to protect the Planet.

Silently he brushed a hand through each child's hair, and fixed Angeal's covers, before going to join Vincent, Veld, and Tseng around the fire that had become the group's improvised living room and kitchen. Zack laid a hand on Tseng's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, prompting a small smile from the stoic teen. He hoped everything would end tonight, but just in case Tseng would be left with the children and instructions to take them back to the Temple of Leviathan if Zack or Vincent did not return within a week.

The teen had fought to be allowed to come with the three older men and help handle Jenova, but Zack had explained that the next oldest after Tseng was the thirteen year old Genesis, and while eighteen was not very old, Tseng was at least a legal adult and could look after the others. The teen had caved soon after that explanation was given, but Zack knew that he was already devising rescue scenarios in his head.

Smiling Zack left the teen and walked to where the other two were waiting for him. Their plan was fairly simple, which is why Zack worried that it would not go well, nothing ever went as easy as it was supposed to.

Zack was going to teleport the three of them outside of Shinra Tower. Zack and Veld would scout the outside of the tower while Vincent explore the inside. If everything was clear, then Zack was going to transport himself and Veld into the latter's office, from there they would access the security system to see if Jenova was in the building or had been moved, after all Hojo had an entire day from Vincent and Veld's disappearance to now, to move the bitch. From that point on the plan was more fluid, depending on what had happened with Jenova, but Zack hoped that by the end of the day it would end with the bitch going up in flames.

With one last look at the building where the kids were sleeping, Zack grabbed Vincent and Veld's shoulders and allowed the green of the Lifestream to surround them.

* * *

**A.N.- Yay, actual chapter done! This was much easier after I got Sephiroth's existential crisis out of the way. I know I haven't included a lot of Angeal or Aerith's thoughts, but honestly they are the most emotionally stable of the group, possibly even more so than Tseng in some instances and Cloud is four, he's safe and has friends, he's doing fine with everything going on. **

**Reviews:**

**Zeynel: I actually did have a thought about including Elfé/Félicia when I realized how involved Veld had become in this story, for the exact same reasons that you stated; however the only information I have ever known about her I got in one fanfiction that I read a **_**long**_** time ago. I feel like I couldn't do her character justice if I tried to include her. If someone wants to give me a summary of her personality and such then we can see what happens later on.**


	13. Chapter 11

**Monsters Make the Best Pack**

**Chapter Eleven: Endings and Beginnings**

**Reading Key- (Vincent is a pain) **'_speaking'_-single quote + italics= Chaos

'speaking'- single quote + no italics=Vincent thinking

_**Feeling**_-instincts/impressions from Galian Beast

**A.N.-Tseng has spent too long with Zack and has picked up his speaking habits. Also, if you don't like semi-graphic mentions of dismemberment than skip the section that begins with Zack in the conference room, we had to work out some issues.**

Tseng sighed and looked back into the fire as the last vestiges of sparkling green disappeared into the nether from which they had was _not_ pouting, whatever Zack might say. He was eighteen, he knew what it meant to put a mission before personal feelings, and he knew how much Zack cared about each of their welfare. The hyperactive 'man' might have phrased it as a big responsibility to look after everyone, but Tseng could read between the lines enough to know that Zack just did not want anyone he considered his responsibility to be in the middle of what could become a gigantic cluster-fuck. That did not mean that Tseng had to _like_ being relegated to the sidelines, but it did mean that he understood _why_ he was there.

The quiet 'pat' of bare feet on rock drew his attention away from the hypnotizing flames and back to the door of the mostly intact house where the children had created their sleeping area. Cloud stood in the doorway, wild spikes in even greater disarray from what Tseng was guessing to be troubled sleep, rubbing one bright blue eye with a tiny fist.

All of the children had some form of nightmare, Aerith, Angeal, and Genesis' were thankfully more benign and 'normal' than Sephiroth and Cloud's happened to be. Zack and Tseng had learned early on to let the two more skittish children approach them at their own pace after any such occurrence. Therefore, Tseng waited patiently by the fire, one eye trained on the sleepy toddler, waiting for him to make the first move. Finally, when Tseng was just beginning to wonder if they would continue like this until either Zack got back or Sephiroth woke up wondering where the younger was, Cloud stumbled on sleep heavy legs to curl up in Tseng's lap, face buried in his ever present stuffed wolf.

"Did you have a nightmare?" asked Tseng as he began to run his hand through unruly spikes in an attempt to tame them. The spikes bobbed up and down in an affirmative gesture.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

The spikes were much quicker to answer in a negative this time. Tseng did not push, Cloud was only four, they had time to confront the issues that disturbed his rest, Zack would make sure of that. For now, he would simply hold the child, allowing his subconscious to rest in the knowledge that they were safe and protected.

Semi-silent feet padded to a stop by his side and a head of un-bound brown curls rested against his shoulder as Aerith joined the two in front of the fire. A pale hand, slowly darkening from spending time in the sun, joined his own in running through blond hair. Together the three sat in companionable silence as Cloud's breaths evened off into the easy rhythm of sleep.

With a grunt, Tseng levered himself to his feet, thirty-five pounds of dead weight in his arms, as he led the dozing nine year old back to their sleeping area. Carefully, he settled Cloud back beside Sephiroth, smiling as the older rolled over in his sleep to embrace the younger. Quickly and silently, he checked on the other two boys and relaxed when he found them sleeping peacefully. Aerith had returned to her sleeping mat while Tseng was looking after the others, and was arranging her blankets about her. Tseng rolled his eyes, even a girl who was not afraid to get dirty and tussle with the boys when they got annoying, would still be a girl.

Verdant green eyes locked with his, a look almost of reproach in them as though the owner knew what he had been thinking, and that young voice whispered in a tone much older than her tender years, "The Guardian and the Guide will stop the Calamity. The Nightmare will never come to be for the Knight, the Harbinger, and the Hero will be at his side. All will be as it should have been."

Tseng shook his head as those eyes slipped closed in sleep, the words reverberating in his mind. The Planet may have attempted to allay his fears in its own cryptic way, but he was going to keep his sentinel post by the fire until Zack returned...just in case.

* * *

Veld blinked sparks from his eyes and watched through blurred vision as Vincent dissolved, for lack of a better term, into a red mist and disappeared toward the Shinra Building. He was unsure which method of travel was _worse_ than the other, but he was fairly certain that he did not want to experience _either_ again anytime soon.

"So while Vincent checks to see if the coast is clear, we are going to…." Veld trailed off as he turned around and noticed that the alley they had arrived in was barren of any other life forms. While Vincent infiltrated the Tower itself, he and Zack were supposed to be assessing the security of the rest of the area. While he had gotten a sense that the man was-hyper was too weak of a term- 'bouncy' and impatient seemed to sum it up, Zack had not seemed irresponsible, and considering Zack had a higher stake in this going right than either other man did, he was surprised at the disappearing act.

A 'huff' drew his attention back to the mouth of the alley where a dark grey wolf stood staring at him intently with blue eyes. The creature huffed again before taking a few steps away from the alley. When Veld did not follow the wolf looked back over its shoulder and then back in the direction it was heading several times. Veld watched with no small amount of trepidation as the great beast huffed for a third time and approached the Director, carefully gripping the man's suit leg and giving a tug, before trotting off again in the direction of the Shinra Building.

"Your best friend and partner returned from the 'dead.' He and the man that he is working with can both teleport in and out of places-in different ways mind you. Now both of those men have disappeared and you're about to follow a wolf in order to infiltrate the place that you have spent a vast majority of your life protecting. Because how much weirder can your day get." Veld grumbled under his breath as he cautiously followed the wild animal through the streets of Midgar.

The two stuck to the shadows as they observed the patrols that circled the building, Veld had to work to hold back a sneer as he noticed multiple ways that a skilled individual could bypass the 'security' and make their way into the building. He would have to look into placing a Turk team on building security, possibly the rookies and those who were supposed to be on 'desk duty' in order to recover from an injury. Injured Turks were a nightmare since they so quickly became bored, maybe such an endeavor would see a decrease to the amount of _interesting_ reports that crossed his desk.

At the moment though, the lack of security was a two-fold blessing. It would make breaking in, even with 'teleportation' skills easier, and it hopefully meant that Professor Hojo had not reported what happened in the lab and moved the Jenova specimen. Maybe the Planet actually was on their side.

The wolf's head snapped to a side alleyway and Veld turned in time to see a flicker of red disappear into the shadows. Veld followed the wolf as they hurried to where the trailing edge of a cloak had disappeared and found Vincent leaning against the wall with his arms crossed against his chest and an un-amused look turned an a suddenly sheepish wolf.

"Holy Shiva's….what the f….you know what," Veld took a deep breath and attempted to regain what little of his dignity was left as the wolf suddenly morphed into a wildly grinning Zack, "I'm not even surprised at this point. What did you find Vin?" He very pointedly ignored the snickers coming from the overgrown child on his left and the look of amusement in his old partner's eyes.

"The building is not on lockdown, so Hojo must not have reported our break-in. I was able to access your computer, "Veld should have been more shocked, but Vincent had a bad habit of breaking into things-came with being a Turk, "and saw that Hojo has not requested that any supplies or materials be moved from the Midgar labs." Dark hair obscured half-closed eyes as the other tilted his head, listening to a conversation only he could hear, "Chaos says he cannot get a pinpoint on her, but he senses that nothing has changed since we were here earlier. "

"Alright, well I can get us into the labs where Tseng was being held. Think you can get us into the right room from there?" Veld had to do a double-take at the serious expression that had replaced the previous amusement on Zack's face.

Those crimson eyes hazed again as an internal conversation took place, "As long as it is still in the lab then we should be able to locate the Calamity."

"Okay then," Zack clapped his hands together and held them out for both men to take, "let's mosey."

* * *

'_This place is a hive of the Calamity. It makes my wings crawl.' _ Chaos' growl was even more annoyed than was typical of the irritable WEAPON. Vincent did not hold the bad mood against him though, Hellmasker and Death Gigas were equally on edge in his mind and Galian Beast had not stopped growling since they had stepped foot in the building. Even Vincent's enhanced senses had his teeth on edge from subtle signals they were picking up down here in the bowels of the Shinra building.

'What do you mean _a hive_?' questioned Vincent, leading the other two through the maze-like hallways to the largest concentration of Jenova cells.

'_The Calamity's cells have been dispersed to others in this building…' _all of the residents of Vincent's mind fell quiet as they felt Chaos' senses stretch throughout the building, _'that is why it has been so difficult to pinpoint the main body. They...talk...to each other, keeping _her_ informed of what is going on. None of these carriers contain enough to notice the communication. I wonder how '_the Alpha'_ plans on dealing with that problem.' _Vincent was curious about that answer too, but for once Zack had been exceedingly tight-lipped about how he planned to eradicate the Calamity and prevent the future falling into ruin. The smile he had received when he attempted to question the former-SOLDIER had shown why Zack's secondary form was a wolf.

'I do not believe we will have to wait very long to see what he has planned,' thought Vincent as he opened the final door separating them from the fossilized remains of a centuries old problem.

* * *

Zack was not sure which to release first the growl building in his throat or the manic grin threatening to spread across his face. The manic grin won out, causing Veld to surreptitiously edge away from the tall First. Jenova 'stood' in a tank in the center of the far wall of the room, Mako and other assorted fluids flowing through and around the living fossil. Zack quickly used what few Turk signals the older Tseng and Cissnei had taught him while on missions to signal Veld to cover the door and Vincent to cover his back as he slowly approached the softly glowing tank.

He stopped a few feet in front of the tank and quietly observed the creature that had ruined so many lives, both directly and indirectly. Today would see an end to that. Hopefully.

Trusting the two Turks to watch his back, Zack closed his violet eyes and reached for the sixth sense that was his new connection with the Lifestream. Carefully he immersed himself in the singing stream, allowing the power to flow through him in an endless loop from the Lifestream through his body and back to the Lifestream. He could _feel_ the power radiating from his eyes in an ever brightening glow.

Once he was confident in his grip on the power, Zack opened his eyes and stepped within reach of the tank, the glass reflecting back the blue/green glow from his eyes. A single touch and the tank exploded, glass and liquid spreading across the floor, all of it missing Zack and the circle of floor where he stood. Calmly he reached through the twisting tubes and external organs to lay his hands on the bare torso and allowed the power to flow out of him and through the contact point. For a moment nothing happened, everything calm as the last rings of falling glass echoed in the room, then chaos erupted.

**VERMIN! THIS PLANET IS MINE! MY RIGHT AND YOU WILL NOT PREVENT ME FROM POSSESSING IT! ...YOU, YOU ARE THE ONE WHO TOOK MINE FROM YOU. YOU RUINED MY CHILDREN, TOOK MY VESSELS FROM ME! YOU WILL PAY, THIS ENTIRE PLANET SHALL PAY! NONE SHALL RULE IT BUT ME!**

"Shut up you psycho bitch, the Planet isn't yours and never has been," grinned Zack, opening himself completely to the flow of the Lifestream.

Later Vincent would tell Zack that at that moment he and Jenova became engulfed in the flowing streamers of green that represented the Lifestream on the physical plane. Small tendrils of the larger streamers broke off and exploded out away from the lab. The green wove and entwined in a hypnotic dance, the tendrils growing and shrinking as some returned and others left. Suddenly all of the tendrils returned and the green mass expanded before rapidly contracting and flashing the room with a blinding white light. When Vincent and Veld were no longer blinded, it was to see Zack lying on the ground surrounded by the spilled Mako that had been crystallized on the ground where it lay, and an empty pedestal where Jenova had previously resided, no trace remaining.

All Zack could remember of the experience was falling into a glowing field of flowers, the sky alternating between blinding white and flowing green. A strong reassuring hand landed on his shoulder and the voices of those he had left behind filled his ears.

"And whatever happens...hold on to your dreams and honor, Puppy. Thank you."

"_Legend shall speak of sacrifice at world's end. The wind sails over the water's surface, quietly, but surely. _My friend, thank you."

"Don't worry, we shall see each other again. I'll hold you to that promise."

"That's why Turks get paid more than SOLDIER...I tried to keep my promise."

"I have twenty-three tiny wishes, but you probably won't remember them all so I put them all together into one...I want to spend more time with you. Thank you."

"Us country boys have to stick together, right partner?"

Zack felt the tears in his eyes, but did not allow them to fall as a pleased smile stretched his lips, "Hey...would you say...I became a hero?"

Six quiet and exuberant 'yes's followed Zack as the flower field faded and was replaced by the shadowed lab, Vincent and Veld hovering over his prone form. Smiling, he turned to Vincent and watched as crimson eyes became hazy and _felt_ as Chaos extended his prenatural senses to search out any traces of Jenova. The answering smile was all Chaos, and confirmed what Zack knew to be true, all traces of Jenova had been wiped from the Planet.

* * *

Veld watched in amazement as the man went from prone on the floor, apparently knocked out by an overflow of power, to standing on his own two feet in about fifteen seconds. Veld knew he would have thrown out his back if he had attempted that move to get back on his feet.

The manic gleam in the other's violet/blue eyes had caused the hairs to stand up on the back of Veld's neck. He had seen a very similar look in Vincent's eye right before a mission in Junon had gone pear-shaped, Veld still had the scar on his thigh from that incident. Therefore, he was not very surprised when Zack had told them to wait in the lab since he had one more thing to take care of before they left. The disappearance in a swirl of green light was also, sadly, no longer as surprising as it was originally.

Which left Vincent and Veld alone in one of the labs of the man who had taken Veld's partner away from him. Almost twelve years apart did not prevent them from understanding with a glance what the other intended to do. Veld went immediately for the computer, while Vincent began searching for the common hiding spaces where Hojo was known to stash files.

Veld quickly accessed and downloaded all of the files pertaining to Sephiroth, Vincent, Angeal and Genesis, and Aerith. He was sorting through a log of different people and beings who might have a connection to the Ancients when a sharp inhale had him quickly turning away from the computer to find Vincent looking at a thick paper file that he had unearthed, a stricken look upon his face.

"What's wrong? Is it...Is it Lucrecia?" Cautiously Veld approached the leather-clad man, unsure how he would react to touch at this moment.

Vincent looked up, crimson eyes filled with pain, and studied Veld's face. Without a word he turned the file so that Veld could read the name printed across its front. The words took time to register in his mind, and he had to actively check that Zack had not returned and transported them away without his realization as the Planet spun out from beneath him. He had thought to never again see that name.

_Felicia Faraman_ was printed on the cover of the file in bold black letters.

* * *

Zack quietly appeared in the shadows of the main conference room where Heideggar and Scarlet were yelling at each other, Palmer dithered and whined, Hojo and Gast glared daggers at each other while Hollander sat at Hojo's side like an attentive puppy, and the President sat at the head of the table, ignoring the chaos surrounding him as he listened with steepled fingers held in front of his face.

Zack smirked and carefully pulled upon the Lifestream, careful to not alert Ifalna to what he was doing before it was time. As Heideggar, Scarlet, and Palmer dropped off to sleep where they sat/stood, Zack carefully stepped out into the light, taking great glee in watching the shock on each face.

"Who are …" started the President, but Zack did not allow him to finish. While the others had flinched in shock, Hojo's eyes had lit up in glee at a new scientific discovery. Never again would Zack allow that bastard to experiment on a living, sentient being. He very deliberately allowed claws to grow on his right hand, and just as deliberately split the man from neck to groin. Gut wounds were a slow way to die, but for once Zack felt no compunctions in leaving his enemy to suffer, it was no more than what he deserved for all the lives he had ruined and helped ruin.

He was unable to revel in the death though, as he caught a glimpse of Hollander attempting to get around the rapidly bleeding out corpse. A quick pivot and sweep of extended claws saw the sycophant's head separated from his body, blood spray coating the walls.

Gast's curse and Ifalna's chocked off scream were mere background noises, acknowledged and then categorized as non-threats. His real attention was for the President who had recovered from his shock and pulled his gold-plated pistol aiming at Zack. He allowed the too sharp smile to stretch his lips waiting for the perfect moment to move.

Simultaneously, the President pulled the trigger and Zack moved forward in a burst of SOLDIER enhanced speed to bury his fist in the man's chest, hand wrapped around his rapidly beating heart. With a sickening 'squelch,' Zack pulled his hand back, heart still clutched in his hand. Zack watched the corpse topple backwards and dropped the heart into the open chest cavity.

With a sigh he held up his gore stained hand to observe how much blood and insides coated the appendage, eyes cutting sideways to look at the Faramis couple. Professor Gast was standing in front of Ifalna, one arm extended to guard his wife and the other put up to fend off Zack. Zack channeled the mako to his eyes, making sure that they glowed extra bright before he turned to face the couple.

"I'm not going to kill you, though I'm not quite happy with some of the ethical decisions you have made _Professor_ Gast. However, I am going to tell you that unless she desires it, your daughter will be staying with me. Do not look for her." He looked around at the bodies at his feet, "And might I suggest leaving Shinra?"

He turned to walk out the door, intending to teleport back to the lab once he left the room when Ifalna's voice called him back, "Why did you take my child? What purpose could you have?!"

Zack smiled his regular, bright and carefree smile, "Why don't you ask the Planet? She is fine with what I'm doing."

The last thing Zack saw as he allowed the green light to overtake him as he returned to the labs were Ifalna and Gast's shocked faces.

* * *

Zack, Vincent, and Veld arrived back at the Forgotten City as dawn was bursting across the sky, painting the crystalline trees and white buildings in shades of pink and bright yellow. Zack and Veld shared an exasperated look of fondness when they caught sight of Tseng passed out beside the embers of the campfire.

Zack was bending down to pick up the exhausted teen when five small bodies impacted with his back, sending him sprawling to the ground. Laughing, Zack cuddled the little monsters to himself, grunting when Genesis pulled a mostly still asleep Tseng down into their impromptu cuddle session.

Zack looked up from the ground to a gently smiling Vincent and a laughing Veld, before looking at a cheerily laughing Aerith, a playfully snooty Genesis, Angeal smiling indulgently at his oldest friend, Sephiroth sprawled across Zack's chest with Cloud balanced precariously on his back, and a very puzzled sleepy Tseng. It was not quite the family that he had left behind, but it was the beginnings of the very best pack.

* * *

**A.N.- FINISHED! Yay, sorry if the end feels kinda rushed, but I couldn't torture Veld by having them run all over the Planet any longer. I have the premise for the sequel planned out in my head, but I give no guarantees for when it might be posted. I will put a small snippet chapter on this story to let all the wonderful followers know when it is posted and what it is named. Thank you all for sticking with this story as it progressed and I hope to see you again for the sequel. **

**Review: For the guest who commented on a previous chapter, that's an interesting concept for a fic, not sure if I would write it-Shelke and Shalula aren't exactly characters I'm very familiar with, but if I ever do I'll be sure to mention where I got the idea from. And if you happen to write it be sure to send me a message, I would like to read it. **


	14. Pack Makes the Best Family

**Pack Makes the Best Family**

**Prologue: A New Home**

**A.N.-This is the sequel to my other story 'Monsters Make the Best Pack,' I would recommend reading that one first. I am joint-posting this chapter at the end of the original fic and here at the beginning of the sequel. So if you are here after reading 'Monster Make the Best Pack' then you can skip from here directly to chapter one. **

Elmyra sighed as she watched the last person disembark from the train. Once again her husband was not among those returning to the Slums. With another sigh and a dejected feeling, she turned away from the last train of the day and began walking away from the platform, ready to go home and wait for another day, and another possible disappointment.

"Where are we going to stay?" Elmyra turned at the quiet question from a young child and had to pause at what she saw. A tall young man, no older than his mid-twenties, dressed in dark fatigues and a sleeveless ribbed turtleneck, with long raven spikes of hair gelled back from his face, stood with a young blond child asleep on his hip and the hand of a young girl secure in his free hand. At his side stood an equally tall man with long black hair held back by a red strip of cloth, a silver haired child was cradled to his chest, wrapped in the trailing ends of a red cloak. Behind the two was an older teen with distinctive Wutain features, on either side of him was a younger teen, one an auburn redhead and the other a raven with spikes similar to the first man and the blond.

The entire group looked dusty and travel wearied with bags on their backs or in their hands. Several of the group carried weapons and each of them looked dead on their feet.

Elmyra watched as the spiky haired man smiled down at the little girl by his side, but she could see the worry in his eyes. "We'll find an inn for the night and then hopefully find a home by the end of the week."

The redhead spoke up, "Do we have enough money for a room at an inn?"

The two adults exchanged looks, "We have what we need, don't worry about it, Gen."

Elmyra double counted how many people were in the group. If they doubled up then they may be able to get away with two hotel rooms instead of three, but that would mean going to Wall Market as no place in Sector Five would have that many open rooms.

Elmyra straightened her shoulders and approached the group, she would not see innocent children exposed to the horrors of Wall Market when she had two empty rooms and a perfectly good attic space for them to stay in.

"Excuse me," the adults stiffened and the younger children quickly ducked behind one of the adults, "I couldn't help but overhear, and I have a few rooms open if you want to borrow them for the night."

She tried not to shudder as glowing, actually glowing, violet and red eyes looked her over, evaluating her and the sincerity of her offer. When the violet set of eyes moved off her she was able to take a breath that she had not realized that she was holding.

A small hand wrapped in her skirt and tugged pulling her attention from the quietly conversing adults and down to the only girl of the group, dressed in a yellow dress with brown pants and boots, her brown hair tied up in a braid with a pink ribbon. The girl was looking up at her with equally piercing green eyes, a look of weary determination on her face.

With a smile, she skipped back to the group and retook the man's hand, "We can trust her."

The spiky haired man that appeared to be the leader of the group, smiled and nodded at Elmyra, "Well, in that case, we will gladly take you up on your offer. My name is Zack. Tall, dark and broody is Vincent. Silent and stoic is Tseng. The little firebrand is Genesis and his calmer shadow is Angeal. Miss Independent here is Aerith. And Vincent is holding Sephiroth while I have Cloud." He laughed, "Don't worry about keeping them straight, if you yell 'kid' usually the right one will respond."

Elmyra laughed along at the huff that the redhead gave at his description, deciding for now not to question why two such young men were seemingly responsible for a group of young children, several too old to be their biologically.

The walk from the station to her house in the back part of the Sector Five town was long, but the prospect of beds seemed to have lifted their spirits enough to have them laughing and playfully picking on each other as they walked.

Water was easy enough to come by in the Slums, but hot water was more of a luxury and Elmyra felt no qualms in allowing the children to use it to clean up. The two sleeping children being carefully woken up for long enough to get clean. Once the children, and one teenager, were settled down in bed-Aerith, Sephiroth, and Cloud in one room and Tseng, Genesis, and Angeal in the other; Elmyra helped Vincent and Zack carry the last of her extra pillows and blankets up to the empty attic space above her room. The two men thanked her profusely, well Zack was exuberant in his thanks, and Vincent was much more withdrawn, for helping them.

As she settled down in her bed some time later and listened to the quiet shuffle of Vincent and Zack getting comfortable above her and the quiet murmur of children awake well past when they should be asleep, for the first time in several weeks, Elmyra was able to fall asleep with a smile on her face and no worries about what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

Zack sighed and collapsed back on the makeshift pallet. The floor might be hard, but there was something about sleeping in a complete, specifically one with an intact roof, that was relaxing. He could feel the quizzical look Vincent was giving him, but decided to let the functioning mute voice his question in his own time instead of trying to work it out of him.

"Why are we here?"

Zack cracked open one eye and looked at where Vincent was lounging against the wall, a rather convenient habit of his that allowed Zack to steal all of his blankets and pillows, "The nice lady offered us a place to stay and…"

Red eyes narrowed in annoyance Zack felt admittedly smug that it had only taken him a month to break past Vincent's walls enough to have him showing annoyance, "What are we doing _here_ in Midgar, Zack."

"You were the one who said that the kids couldn't grow up isolated in the ruins of a forgotten civilization." Zack propped himself up on his elbows so that he could look Vincent in the eye, "Shinra still has a capture on sight order out on the kids, Veld said that he was unable to rescind it. All the small towns were built around reactors and have regular patrols going through them. It's harder to hide in a small town then it is here under the plate."

He shrugged and looked up at the ceiling, "They will still have to hide here in Midgar, but they stand a better chance here than they would in a place where everyone knows everyone and no one has any secrets. Here they will stand more of a chance of being themselves without hiding away in some obscure corner of the Planet."

Zack looked over to Vincent who had fallen silent in contemplation of what Zack had said. With a shrug he settled down to sleep, after all in the morning he would have to go house hunting for something that could withstand his crazy pack.

His last thought as he drifted off to sleep was that he should show the church to Aerith and the others.


End file.
